


The Mistakes We Make

by Agentmoose1983, Dungeon_Rose



Series: The Mistakes We Make [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Abduction, Abuse, Adorable, Child Abuse, Cute, Disapproving Family, Drunk Sex, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gangs, Hostage Situations, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jail, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Motorcycles, Multi, Multiple Orgasms, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Public Sex, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Semi-Public Sex, Sex Toys, Smut, So much violence, Stockholm Syndrome, Sweet Relationships, This is dirty, This is sickeningly sweet at some parts, Threesome - F/F/F, Threesome - F/F/M, Threesome - F/M/M, Violence, seriously, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-04-30 23:31:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14507841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agentmoose1983/pseuds/Agentmoose1983, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dungeon_Rose/pseuds/Dungeon_Rose
Summary: Nikita Bailey, a girl who was taken from her parents when she was little and just found out, surprises them with the news that she decides to stay. She and her best friend, Harmony Bradbury, who has been in a constant on and off relationship with a biker, Eric Melrose since eighth grade, decide to join the biker gang after she falls for the leader, Dane Cayson. Their lives change forever as they meet new friends, Jordan ‘Kittie’ Melrose, who is the most innocent of the biker gang that falls for a much older man, and Adriana Khalid, who falls for another biker after Dane leaves her. When they all get throw in the same gang, they have to learn to live with each other and still keep their sanity.





	1. Nikita Bailey

**Author's Note:**

> So my friend and I were writing a hell of a lot of Supernatural fanfiction and I wanted to work on something different, so we decided to troll through Pinterest looking for writing prompts. This basically stemmed off that, but we went way off prompt so it doesn't even really count now. We had a lot and then deleted it all because we're indecisive fucks. So yeah. There's that.

Last day of summer. The last day of summer and I’m spending it like I did every other day of summer: working on building houses. I giggle as I continue building, the building coordinator watching as I paint the walls. I finish up and turn, waving before I leave and go to the soup kitchen, serving dinner to the homeless and then I go home. My black hair is in a tight ponytail and I’m wearing jeans and a tank top. I walk inside and set my bag down, then walk into the kitchen where my mom is cooking dinner.

“Hi, mama,” I smile.

“Hey, baby girl. Your dad got home an hour ago. Asked after you. He’s in his office.”

“Yes, mama.”

I turn and walk out of the room and through the house, knocking on his office door before I open it and walk inside.

“Hi, sweetie.”

“Hi, daddy,” I giggle as I bound over to him. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“We built ten houses over the summer. I helped start and finish ten houses and all time not spent on houses was spent volunteering at the soup kitchen, the library, the mayor’s office, the police station, and the red cross.

“That’s amazing!”

“I’ve got enough community service hours to graduate three times and I get more every day.”

“Good job, baby.”

“And I did all my homework for the summer in the first day of summer break.”

“Good job.”

“Daddy…” I whisper, trailing off.

“What is it?”

“There are these kids at school. Last year they made it a really hard time for me. Tortured me verbally. Made fun of me.”

“Just ignore them.”

“They follow me around. They park in front of the school. They’re the bikers that are around town a lot. You’ve seen them. Told me to stay away from them. They harrass me.”

“Can’t Harmony help you? She’s your best friend.”

“She likes them, they like her. On the occasions they talk. She tells me not to be so uptight.”

“Well just ignore them, baby. That’s the best advice I can give.”

“Yes, daddy,” I whisper, walking over to him and sitting next to him.

“Good. Now be quiet. I have to work.”

I nod and sit in silence. When he finishes, mom comes in and tells us dinner is ready. We go eat dinner and then I sigh, looking out the window as I do the dishes, watching the bikes stop outside a house and go to pull someone from it. One of them turns, his blue eyes meeting my hazel ones, and I gasp, turning away and I hear raucous laughter. My dad looks over at me and I look at him.

“That’s them.”

“Just ignore them.”

I nod and continue washing the dishes before the bikes go away. It isn’t long before I run upstairs and go to bed. The next morning, I sigh, pulling on my uniform of a pleated green and gold skirt with a white button down shirt and black mary jane pumps, tossing my hair in a high ponytail before I walk downstairs.

“Have a good day.”

I smile and kiss him on the cheek before I walk out of the house and get in the car, driving to school. When I get there, the bikers aren’t quite there yet so I run up to my typical picnic table and open my things. My best friend, Harmony, walks over and flops down next to me and rolls her eyes as I look through everything I have, organizing my homework my potential class period.

“Do you ever stop with homework?”

“It’s finished, I’m just organizing it.”

“Well stop. Enjoy life a little! Like I do. I hooked up with one of the bikers yesterday,” She smiles, biting her lip. “And here he comes now.”

I look over and see a man walking over. He smiles at Harmony and looks at me, scoffing before he walks past her. She gets out of her seat and follows after him, slipping her hands under his shirt. I sigh and shake my head, organizing everything before packing my stuff up. I hear laughter and catcalls and I see a woman with dark skin hanging on the leader of the bikers, the two of them kissing passionately.

“Are we skipping today?” I hear Harmony ask him, biting her lip.

“It’s the first day of school. I have to be here.”

“Why?”

“First impressions.”

“Ugh. Fine. I’m skipping.”

“Don’t. Stay,” he says, grabbing her.

“Why?”

“So we can go after school.”

“Alright.”

“So you’ll stay?”

“I will.”

He smiles and then turns, walking inside. The girl and boy walk up, but the boy with striking blue eyes stops and looks at me, instructing the girl that’s with him to go inside. After she’s gone, he looks at me and follows her in, brushing through his hair. I go back to studying before the bell rings and I get up, going inside. I spend the first day of sophomore year getting taunted by bikers and everyone else, and then I go to load my car. When I finish, I turn and jump at the proximity of the bikers, making them laugh, and I scurry to get in my car, driving home. As soon as I get there, I run inside and up the stairs, setting my bag down and curling up on my bed. Soon, there’s a gentle knock on my door. My mother. I ignore it and continue to remain curled up. That’s when another knock, gentle but louder, sounds on my door. My father.

“What happened at school today?” He calls out.

“Nothing,” I whisper, and he slowly opens my door.

“Tell me.”

“I’m just too sensitive,” I mumble, hugging my pillow.

“What does that mean?”

“The taunting all day, being called prude and teacher’s pet, goody goody, GG to shorten it, stupid, cheater. Laughed at, mocked. It’s just part of being a teenager I guess.”

“You don’t have to put up with it. We can always homeschool you.”

“I like my school, dad.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I just… need to adjust again.”

“Okay.”

“Daddy?”

“Yes?”

I get up and go give him a tight hug. He smiles and hugs me back, holding me close. Carefully I bury my face in his chest, taking deep breaths as I hug him.

“Don’t let me go, daddy.”

“I won’t.”

“Not ever?”

“I promise.”

“Good. I love you, daddy.”

“I love you too.”

I smile and hug him tighter, closing my eyes and breathing in the comforting scent of my dad. He smiles and hugs me tightly before he lets go.

“I have to go work.”

“You just got home,” I whine.

“I’m working from home.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. Finish your homework while I work in my office.”

“We didn’t get any. It’s only the first day.”

“Alright then go hang out with Harmony.”

I nod and change into jeans and a tank top before walking downstairs and leaving. But Harmony is out with the biker, so I just wander around. Eventually she finds me an hour later, one of the bikers around and she smiles.

“What’s up, Nikki?”

“Nothing.”

“Well do you want to hang out with us?”

“You want to hang out with the prude?”

“She’s my friend, Eric.”

“She’s boring.”

“Then you can go.”

He rolls his eyes and walks away, getting on his bike and leaving. She sighs and sits down next to me, looking at me.

“How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine. Come on, I just lost my boyfriend. You can tell me.”

“You didn’t lose him, he left for now.”

“Nah he probably won’t be back.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m pretty sure. I bet you he won’t be back.”

“How much?”

“Fifty.”

“I’ll take that bet. You pay me fifty if he comes back and if he doesn’t, you get fifty and I do your homework for a month.”

“Deal.”

I smirk and nod, turning to the street. She watches the street, the cars passing by before she stands up.

“Come on. We’re going shopping. I just got my allowance and I need a new outfit to wear to the bar.”

I nod and we get up, going to the mall. When we get there, I watch her start shopping and just sit.

“Do you think this outfit screams ‘have sex with me’?”

“I think you scream ‘have sex with me’.”

“Good. That’s what I need. Come with me to the bar.”

“I don’t have anything to wear to the bar!”

“Then I’ll buy you something! I have plenty of money!”

“What am I supposed to wear?”

“Jeans and a shirt is fine.”

I look down at my ripped skinny jeans, lightly ripped, but ripped, and the flowy light yellow shirt with off-the-shoulder cap sleeves.

“That’s good. Let’s go.”

I nod and she takes my hand, buying the outfit, changing, and she drags me to the bar. I look around with nervous eyes, chewing on my lip, and I see the bikers in the corner. She smiles and walks over to another group of men, ignoring the bikers as she flirts with a young guy sitting at the bar. I stand next to her nervously, twisting my fingers.

“Hey there,” She says, messing with her hair.

“Hi,” he smirks.

“What is a handsome guy like yourself doing here alone?”

“Looking for a beautiful woman.”

“Really? Well I might know someone.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhm.”

“Who?”

“Mmm… me.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhm.”

“Well come on then,” he smirks, standing up, but someone walks over and grabs her.

“Baby,” Eric whispers in her ear.

“What?”

“Come with me.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” the guy says, standing up. “I don’t want any trouble.”

“You’re right, you don’t,” Eric growls.

The guy walks away quickly and laughter comes from the biker’s table.

“No. You can’t do that.”

“Can’t do what?”

“You can’t just leave me alone to walk home and then act like you love me.”

“You told me to go,” he says. “I didn’t want to hang out with the prude and you told me to leave.”

I sigh and turn, walking outside and leaning against the wall as the night settles in. She follows after me, running as fast as she can.

“Nikki!”

“What!?” I ask, turning and looking at her, tears running down my face.

“Don’t cry.”

“Why not?”

“Don’t listen to him.”

“He’s with you. He’s around all the time. I’ll see you later, Harmony. I’m gonna walk home. Don’t drive if you get drunk.”

“No. I’ll go with you.”

“No. Stay. Have fun. This is your scene, not mine.”

“Nikki…”

“It’s fine. I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” I whisper, turning and walking away, my combat boots soundless on the concrete.

“Alright. Fine. I’m sorry.”

I nod and continue walking. Soon I start running, arriving at my favorite part of the park: a secret and hidden grove. I sit there and cry quietly, hidden by branches and bushes. Then my phone rings. I answer it and sniffle.

“Daddy?” I whisper.

“What is it, baby?”

“Can you come get me?” I sniffle.

“Of course I can. Give me a few minutes.”

I nod and hang up, curling up. Carefully I crawl out of the underbrush and see some of the bikers lurking. The tears come harder as they catcall and I run to my dad’s car as it pulls up. It doesn’t take long for me to launch myself into the car and throw my arms around my dad’s neck, hugging him tightly.

“It’s okay. Calm down, baby girl.”

“I wanna go home,” I whisper as I cry.

“We’ll go home.”

I nod and curl up as he drives. When we get home, I run inside and curl up on my bed, my dad following behind me quickly. I cry for a little while and he walks over, hugging me gently.

“It’s okay, baby girl. Just calm down. Can you go get me something from my room while I work?”

“What do you need, daddy?” I ask quietly, curling up over to him, my head in his lap.

“I need some papers in a box in my closet. Can you get them for me while I’m in my office?”

“Yes sir,” I smile, getting up and walking to his room.

“Thank you, baby girl.”

I look through his things, finding two boxes and I furrow my eyebrows, grabbing them both and walking down to his study. I hand him the first one and open the second, my eyes widening at all the missing persons ads there.

“Daddy what is this?” I ask, looking up at him.

“Where did you find it?”

“Under your bed… I didn’t know which box was which…”

“Nikki…”

“Truth time, daddy,” I whisper, looking up at him. “What are these?”

He sighs and looks down before he takes the poster from me. “It’s a missing person’s poster. We took you when you were little.”

“Why?”

“Because we could never have our own children and you were left alone.”

“Left alone?”

“They left you to go watch over your brother on the other side of the playground.”

“And you took me? Just like that? No second thought no… no regrets?”

“Not really.”

“Oh,” I nod, looking down.

“I’m sorry. We should have told you earlier.”

“Why are all of these here?” I ask, looking up at him as I look through them.

“Because we didn’t want you to see them.”

I look at them and then back up at him before I hug him tightly. “I love you, daddy.”

“I love you too.”

“Thank you for being honest with me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

I smile and hug him tighter, closing my eyes as I do. We stay like that until dinner is ready and then I bound into the dining room to eat. The next day at school, I’m sitting with my earbuds in, wearing my school uniform, and Harmony sits down across from me, biting her lip. She pulls my head up and smiles, waving at me. Quickly I pull my earbuds out and look at her, raising my eyebrow and crossing my arms.

“Hi. How are you?”

“Fine.”

“Why are you being cold towards me?”

“I’m not.”

“You’re acting like it.”

“I just… I didn’t want to go last night.”

“But today you’re not saying more than one word to me.”

“I found something out last night.”

“What is it?”

“You have to promise not to tell anyone. Best friend promise.”

“I promise.”

“My parents aren’t my parents.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like they aren’t my biological parents.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Wow. That’s strange. What are you going to do?”

“Stay with them?”

“Alright. As long as you don’t leave me here alone.”

“I mean, just because they took me from the park doesn’t mean they don’t love me. They loved me enough to take me.”

“True. I just need my best friend here with me since I don’t have anyone else.”

“I’m staying here.”

“Good.”

“I love them.”

“I do too. They’re amazing. Anyways I better go before Eric and his friends show up. We broke up again.”

“Again?”

“Yep. For good this time.”

“Really? Cause it was for good last time.”

“Well it’s actually for good now.”

I roll my eyes and nod as she leaves. When she’s gone, I look through my things and realize I’ve left something in my car, so I grab my things and walk to my car, the catcalls starting as the bikers show up.

“Feel like making my day and taking a ride with me sweetheart?” one of them calls to me as I look through my car.

“No,” I reply, continuing to look.

They laugh and tease me, calling me prude, goody goody. Another bike roars up and turn to see the leader of the gang shows up. I huff when I can’t find my things and put them in my car, locking it and walking up to look at the table. One of the men grabs me and I shriek. Their leader, Dane, stands up and glares at the man as he tries to pull me onto the bike.

“Leave her alone and go.”

He shoves me forward and Dane catches me as I shriek, then he gets up and storms off, leaving me with a bunch of people making fun of me. I try to push away from Dane but he grabs my hand.

“I was just trying to help you.”

“It wasn’t you,” I whisper.

“Well you better go before he comes back.”

“He’s in my first period. There’s nowhere to go,” I say, looking down

“For now. He’s going back home.”

I sigh and run to my car, getting in and driving home. I get there and enter the kitchen, grabbing the bottle of ibuprofen and taking four before I drink it down with a glass of orange juice, then I walk upstairs, leaving the bottle of pills open on the counter. When I get to my room, I fall onto my bed and fall asleep. I wake up to the sound of a bike outside my house and I go downstairs, rubbing my forehead and gasping when I see Dane there.

“I’m sorry about him. It won’t happen again.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

“Yes, I can.”

“Really? Are you going to take me? Mark me up, claim me as yours? Like you do with other girls?”

“No. I’m just protecting you.”

“How?” I ask, walking down to him. “Why? You don’t know me.”

“Because I know your personality from Harmony. And you don’t deserve that.”

“Don’t be nice to me, Dane,” I whisper. “It makes it harder to dislike you and if I don’t dislike you then I…”

“What?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

“No tell me.”

“I’ve had a crush on you since the seventh grade, Dane. And you being nice to me makes disliking you harder and if I don’t dislike you I fall for you all over again.”

“Well I’m just being myself.”

“I know.”

“So sorry for being nice.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I say, walking up to him. “Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“Well don’t be sorry. Anyways, I better go. Before Eric destroys himself.”

“Why is he destroying himself?”

“Because of Harmony. He has… abandonment issues since his mom died.”

“Oh. Right.” I look down and wring my hands together. “Thank you. For… helping…”

“Don’t mention it. I better go.”

I nod and watch him leave, then my dad comes home. He walks over and looks at me as I watch Dane walk away and I bite my lip.

“What was he doing here?”

“He came to talk to me.”

“Are you okay?”

“I had a migraine. I came home instead of staying for school. He came to make sure I was okay, his goons were… one of them grabbed me.”

“Ah. Okay. Well I’m going to work. I hope you feel better soon.”

“Thank you, daddy.”

He nods and walks out as Harmony walks in, a smile on her face.

“I feel so great not having a boyfriend. I could flirt with anyone I want and not have to worry.”

“That would be your concern,” I mumble.

“What?”

“He loves you.”

“Really? I don’t see it.”

“Dane was just here, Harmony. He said that Eric is destroying himself.”

“Okay?”

“Destroying himself over you.”

“Why?”

“Because he loves you and wants you?”

“No he doesn’t!”

“Yes he does!” I shout, looking at her. “Just because you’re too stubborn to see it doesn’t make it any less true! He loves you, so go find him and make things right!”

She scream out and pulls out her phone, calling his number before she hangs up.

“He’ll be here soon so I can prove I’m right.”

“Why are you so stubborn?!”

“Because he doesn’t love me!”

“Fine! Believe that if you want!”

“Well he’s coming over so we can talk about it!”

I huff and storm outside. When I get out there, Eric looks at me as he gets off his bike and walks up to me, pushing past and into the house where I follow and look between him and Harmony.

“Do you actually love me?” She asks, crossing her arms.

“I do.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Then why don’t you show it?”

“I just show it differently.”

“By hating my friends?”

“Just the one.”

“Well don’t.”

“It’s just who I am. I prefer people who crave adventure, and that adventure isn’t in books.”

“Just try, okay? She’s important to me. Like… you are.”

“I’ll try. _Try_.”

“Thank you, Eric.”

“You’re welcome, baby.”

She nods and looks away, biting her lip. He takes her hand and pulls her out. I watch as he helps her onto his bike and drives them away and I sigh, walking up to bed.

Over the next couple of months, I get paid to do other people’s homework, price determined by effort and materials required. I make a whole bunch of money, stashing it in a box under a loose floorboard in my bedroom. One day, I hear the catcalls start up again. Dane must not be here yet. As they call and mock, I feel a hand pull me backwards onto a bike and I shriek, wrapping my arms around the person. Dane.

“How are you?”

“Fine. What are you doing?” I ask as he drives his bike through the parking lot.

“Getting you away?”

“Where are you taking me?” I call as he speeds up, driving through the gates of the school.

“Home?”

“You’re taking me home,” I whisper, my arms wrapping around him as my bag rests on my back.

“Mhm. That’s the plan. Or I could take you back to my apartment and show you around. See where me and Eric come from. And where Harmony stays sometimes.”

“Your apartment? Isn’t it in the bad part of town?”

“It is.”

“My parent tell me to stay away from there,” I whisper, holding tighter.

“Just trust me.”

I nod and rest my head on his shoulder as he drives. I watch as we appear in the worse side of town, the rough and tough area of New York City, and I hold tight to him until he pulls us to a stop outside five large apartment buildings and I look at the ratty exterior.

“It looks better on the inside. I promise.”

I nod and let him lead me inside. As soon as we walk in I gasp at the luxury, the velvet lined furniture, solid wood, chandeliers, sconces, everything nice is there. I follow him through the building to an elevator, where we stand as it move slowly, my body a little less than a foot from his despite the space. Once it stops, he smiles and continues to show me around before we run into many members of his gang that I know. Finally we reach the top floor of the last building after he shows me each one of the other four, and we wait in the elevator again. Stepping out I look around and gasp at how beautiful it is.

“What do you think?”

“It’s amazing,” I whisper.

“I hoped you would like it. Come on. Stay tonight so you see what our normal life is. We have a spare room.”

“I don’t know… I don’t have any clothes and there’s school tomorrow…”

“We have extra clothes you can borrow.”

“I don’t know, Dane…”

“Come on. Just one day.”

“I don’t fit in here.”

“I invited you so you could see what our life was like.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Why me?”

“Because I want you to see. And your friend is here.”

I sigh and nod, walking with him to the room I’ll be staying in. When I set my bag down, he walks me down to the porch where people are gathering and laughing, drinking, smoking, and gambling, making my eyes widen.

“This is how we normally live. Harmony should be here soon.”

“This is crazy and illegal,” I whisper.

“But it’s our way of life.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I sigh and walk with him. I see Harmony laughing with a girl with dark skin and twisted hair.

“You’re ridiculous, Harmony,” she laughs, and her accent is one I’ve never heard around here.

“What did I do?”

“You were you,” she laughs, hugging her.

“Who is she?” I ask Dane quietly, looking at her.

“Adriana.”

“Your girlfriend.”

“Yes.”

“Right,” I whisper, looking down. “I should… go.”

“No. Stay,” Harmony says, reaching out for me.

“I… I shouldn’t be here. My parents don’t know and I’m just… I should…” I trail off and look at my hands. “I don’t belong here.”

“Well smart girl, you make sense. You don’t,” Adriana says.

“I’ll walk home,” I whisper, turning and running into the building to grab my bag.

“Nikki…”

Harmony follows me as I grab my bag and sling it onto my back. “I’m going home. I don’t belong here I’m not… I can’t… you know how I feel about him, he knows how I feel about him. And I’m not going to stay where his girlfriend is with him. It’s not happening.”

“Then stay for me. I want you here.”

“I don’t belong here, Mon.”

“Please stay?”

“Mon… I’m not… I’m not a biker, I don’t belong in a gang.”

“I’m not either but I’m here.”

“You belong here. You love this kind of stuff.”

“Just one day, Nikki. Stay with me one day.”

I sigh and set my bag down, nodding. She takes my hand and changes my clothes. Black jeans and a purple tank top. I walk down with her and join them, looking at them as they party. Adriana is in Dane’s lap and I look away, walking to sit away from the party. Harmony follows after me and grabs a beer from Eric’s hand, smiling at him. I sit down and bite my lip, crossing my legs and hiding quietly.

“Don’t hide, Nikki. Have fun.”

I sigh and nod, joining the party. She laughs and we spend hours together, laughing together and laughing. When the night ends, I go up to the room and fall asleep. When I wake up the next morning, I get dressed in my uniform and pack my bag, walking quietly downstairs and avoiding Dane. I begin walking out of the neighborhood and reach the next one, looking for a cab when I hear the bike. I turn around and see Dane get off the bike.

“Let me take you to school.”

“You have a girlfriend.”

“And I’m just taking you to school.”

“She doesn’t like me.”

“Relax, Nikita. I’m just taking you to school.”

I look down and feel him take my hand, and I look up at him, biting my lip.

“Come on. It’s just school.”

He pulls me onto the bike and I wrap my arms around his waist and he drives off. As we drive, I sigh, closing my eyes and leaning when I need to, then he turns into the school parking lot and people look at me like I’m crazy. I get off and run up to the classroom of my first period, looking at my phone. Multiple texts from my parents, worried.

N: I’m fine, daddy. I promise.

D: Alright. Just checking on you. You never came home last night.

N: I was with Harmony all night. At a friend’s house.

D: Okay. I’ll see you later.

N: Bye, daddy.

I put my phone up and sigh quietly, sitting in my desk and pulling out my homework. Over the next couple weeks, Dane takes a special interest in me, but I avoid him at all costs. One night, I’m sleeping soundly until I hear something tapping my window. Slowly I open my eyes and look over, then get up and walk over, looking out the window. I open it and lean out to look at Dane.

“What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

“I wanted to see you.”

“Why?”

“Because I like you.”

I sigh and point to the tree. He climbs up the tree and sits on the windowsill, looking at me. I look at him, then become self conscious of my Hello-Kitty sleeping shorts and tight light pink tank top and reach over, grabbing a white cardigan and pulling it on.

“You don’t have to hide, Nikki.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not going to judge you.”

Slowly I take the cardigan off and look at him.

“Were you sleeping? Did I wake you?”

“No,” I whisper, looking at him. “Homework.”

“Ah. Let me help.”

“You don’t have to,” I laugh, stepping back as he swings into the room.

“I want to help.”

“It’s just reading for a class,” I whisper, looking up at him. “I finished the paper homework.”

“Alright.”

“Well… there is one thing.”

“What is it?”

“I just… I didn’t understand the history foldable assignment.”

“Ah. I finished it. I can help.”

“That would be great.”

“Alright.”

I smile and sit down. He spends an hour helping me with the project, and when I finish, I smile and look at him, biting my lip.

“What?”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Don’t mention it.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it,” he repeats.

“Well I’ve mentioned it,” I say, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

“I know. And you’re welcome.”

I smile and lean in, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, and he looks down at me.

“What was that for?”

“You deserved it.”

“For what?”

“Being one of my only friends,” I whisper, looking down.

“Ah. Well I like you, Nikki.”

“You said that, but what does it mean?”

“What do you mean?”

“You like me. I’m your friend. That’s why you like me.”

“Well… sort of.”

“Sort of?” I push, looking up. “What do you mean, sort of?”

“I like you. But as… more than a friend.”

“I don’t understand. You have a girlfriend. You-”

“But I like you.”

“But your girlfriend-”

“I don’t care about her. She’ll find someone else.”

“You can’t leave someone perfect for you.”

“She’s not perfect for me.”

“She’s better than I am,” I mumble, leaning back and letting my black hair fall in front of my face.

“That’s so far from the truth and you know it.”

“I don’t know that. I don’t normally drink, I don’t do drugs, the most rules I’ve broken are those where I’ve done other people’s homework for money. I’d never ridden a motorcycle before you took me from school to your… home. I’ve never kissed anyone, much less had sex, and I’ve never even had a boyfriend. Every day all I do is school, clubs, homework, sleep, repeat. I’m average, I’m not… And she… she’s beautiful and…”

“You’re just as beautiful as she is, Nikki. And I don’t care that you don’t do any of that stuff. I like you for you.”

“I’m boring. I’m average. I’m not… I’m not adventurous.”

“I don’t care. I still like you.”

I scoff in disbelief and look down, closing my eyes. The hope that it could be real and then it be a lie is too much to bear, so it’s easier not to hope at all.

“Why don’t you believe me?”

“I’ve wanted you since the seventh grade. Getting my hopes up now is… not desirable unless it’s true.”

“It’s true.”

I look up at him, my eyes searching for a lie in his own eyes as my hand comes up to touch his face softly. He smiles and looks at me before he leans in and kisses me. I gasp and pull back quickly, touching my lips with my fingers tips before leaning in tentatively, but pausing, unsure.

“Go ahead.”

I bite my lip and then lean in, brushing my lips against his softly. He smiles and pulls me closer, letting his hands trail under my shirt. I straddle his lap, pushing the papers off my bed and curling my fingers in his hair. He pushes me back down on the bed and pulls my shirt over my head. I gasp and look up at him, covering my bare breasts with my arms.

“Don’t do that.”

I bite my lip and slowly uncover them, my arms resting on the bed beside me. He smiles and slowly kisses down my body, pulling my shorts and panties down. I look up at him, nervous.

“There’s no reason to be nervous.”

“Will it hurt?”

“No. It won’t.”

I bite my lip and nod, leaning up and kissing him again as I push his jacket off his shoulders and pull his shirt up, running my hands over his bare chest. He smiles and tosses his jacket aside before he pulls off his pants. Tentatively, I pull his boxers down and gasp as I take him in. He smiles and looks at me, pressing a kiss to my neck as he lines himself up with my entrance. I let out a soft gasp as I feel him push into me, my walls stretching to accommodate him, and then he pauses when he hits my hymen. My eyes clench shut tightly as he breaks through it and I whimper. He pauses once he’s fully seated inside me, his cock throbbing, and I wait, adjusting to the intrusion.

Finally, I moan softly and buck my hips upwards. He begins to thrust then, in and out of my pussy as he goes, and I moan, my eyes closing and my back arching. He leans down, sucking marks onto my body, easily hideable, and I moan a little louder, biting my lip. He continues thrusting, the two of us moaning, and I feel something build up inside me, my pussy tightening around his cock. I whimper and cry out as it feels like a string snaps inside me, my pulse vibrating all over my body as I bite into my lip hard enough to break skin and I quiver around him. He moans, my orgasm triggering his, and he cums inside of me and I moan at the thick and hot ropes spilling inside me and when he’s worked us through our orgasms, he slowly pulls out of me, making me whimper at the loss.

“That was amazing.”

“Mhm,” I nod, rolling over and running my fingers over his chest.

“Come back with me to my apartment.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” I whisper.

“And we can be quiet. Come on.”

I get up and dressed in a pair of jeans and a tank top, lacing my combat boots up before I close my window and walk soundlessly down the stairs, grabbing my jacket. He follows after me and I smile. Finally we get outside and he helps me onto his bike before he gets on himself and I wrap my arms around his waist, snuggling against him. He starts his motorcycle and begins driving, the streets less busy now. When we get to the apartments, the party is quieting down but they’re still out. Adriana looks over and runs down to him, smiling and kissing him when he gets off his bike, making me look down and away.

“Adriana you can head inside.”

“The party isn’t over. I’m always at the parties until they end,” she says, confused. “Unless you want to…”

“No. I have news for you that I need to tell you alone.”

“Oh. Alright,” she mumbles, turning and walking inside the building.

I look at Dane, then down.

“I’ll be right back. Go find Harmony.”

I nod and walk away to find Harmony.


	2. Harmony Bradbury

I smile and look around, noticing that Nikki is heading my way before Eric drags me to his room.

“Hey, baby. What’s up?”

“Join us.”

“What?”

“The gang.”

“Eric…”

“Come on! It’s for life once you do but it’s so worth it!”

“I can’t stay here all the time.”

“Why not?!”

“Eric I have things to do. Tours. Things for my parents. Dinners.”

“Baby please,” he pleads.

“I’ll try, okay?” I whisper, looking up at him. “I can’t promise anything.”

“That’s what this is! It’s a promise, it’s a lifestyle! You’d be giving up everything but wouldn’t it be worth it?”

“It would, but I can’t just give up on my family. I need to be there for them too.”

“Fine,” he says, walking out of the room and shutting the door loudly.

I sigh and pack up my things in my backpack before I sling it over my shoulder and walk out. Nikki walks over to me and bites her lip, looking at me. “Where are you going?”

“Home. Since I was an idiot and just lost my boyfriend again.”

“You didn’t lose him, he went to talk to Dane’s dad,” she mumbles. “But can I come home with you? I know my parents will be worried if I’m gone when they wake up.”

“Sure. Just text them and say you spent the night at my house. We just live across the street.”

She nods and we get in my car together, her hands twisting in her lap. I drive us both to my house and pull into the garage, closing it behind me before we walk up to my room. She changes into one of my t-shirts and just stays in her panties, then she crawls onto my bed and looks at me with her large eyes.

“What?”

“I… something happened at the compound. A woman came up to me and asked me to… join them in something? Like, sex, I think? But like… she said only women allowed.”

“Ah. It’s not that unusual. Eric and I would have threesomes or foursomes sometimes.”

“But I’ve never even been with a woman, I didn’t even have sex until…”

“Just ignore her. I’m sure it’ll be pretty easy. She never usually leaves her room.”

“Dane and I had sex tonight,” she whispers.

“I figured.”

“It was… kind of amazing.”

“That’s good. Now go to sleep. I’m going to sit in the window and just watch the stars.”

She nods and rolls over, falling asleep fairly quickly. I sit up in the window and drink down a bottle of whiskey while I watch the road. A motorcycle comes down the road and stops outside my house. My eyes widen when I see the motorcycle and I run past my parents until I’m outside. Eric gets off and looks at me, walking closer.

“What are you doing here? My parents are still up.”

“I know.”

“So…”

“I want you to join us.”

“Eric…”

“Please.”

“What if I had a baby? Where would it go?”

“We’d keep it.”

“And how would we raise it?”

“Like how I was raised. Within the gang. We’re not like the typical gang, we’re a family and we all look after everyone.”

I look down and bite my lip, picking at the tattoo on my wrist. He walks right up to me and tilts my face up so I’m looking at him, desperation dancing in his eyes, and for the first time I see him chewing on his lip in nervousness.

“I’ll try,” I whisper.

“Thank you.”

I nod and slowly start walking back inside. He follows me and pins me to the exterior wall of the house.

“What are you doing?”

“Where are you going?”

“Upstairs to my room to sleep?”

“Come back with me.”

“Okay,” I nod.

He smiles and holds out his hand, looking at me. I take his hand and smile. Swiftly he picks me up and sets me on his bike before he gets on in front of me. Once we’re both comfortable, he starts the bike and drives us back to the apartment complex, and I smile as I bury my face in his back. Finally we get there, everyone gone to bed as it’s four in the morning, and he pulls me off the bikes.

“So we’re not going to school tomorrow?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s late. There’s no way we can go to school tomorrow.”

“No. We’re not.”

“What are we doing instead?”

“Sleeping?”

“All day?”

“Most of it.”

“Okay.”

“Mhm.”

I smile and run up to his room, stripping down to my bra and panties before I pull on one of his shirts and crawl into bed. He follows, curling up next to me and pulling me close to him, my back pressed against his chest, his face buried in the crook of my neck.

“If you get any closer you’re going to crush me, baby.”

“I’m not any closer than I typically am at night.”

“Well I’m sure to anyone walking in, they won’t know where one of us stops and the other starts.”

“Good.”

I roll my eyes and slowly fall asleep, burying my face in the pillow. He smiles and falls asleep shortly after. When I wake up the next morning, I hop out of bed and start up the shower, pulling off my clothes as I wait for the water to heat up. He’s still sleeping, snoring softly as he does. He’s such a teenage boy. As he sleeps, I jump in the shower and start washing my body, letting the hot water pound against my muscles. Once the water turns cold, I get out and turn off the shower then start drying off before I walk back into the bedroom and change into some of his clothes and my skinny jeans before I take his jacket and throw it on. He mumbles, rolling over in bed. I smile and walk over to the bed, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. The grumble that escapes is deep and growl-like, rolling over and covering his head with a pillow. I sigh and sit down at his desk, writing in my journal until he wakes up. When he does finally wake up, he mumbles and sits up, rubbing his eyes.

“Good afternoon, sleepyhead.”

“Mmm…”

“Still tired?”

“Mmm…”

“It’s time to get up. What are we going to do?”

“Up to you,” he mumbles tiredly.

“What does that mean?”

“Tired.”

I sigh and walk over to him, sitting down on the bed. Soft mumbles come out of his mouth and he looks at me before he  _ fwaps _ me with a pillow playfully.

“Excuse me,” I giggle, smacking him back.

He laughs and swats me again. I bite my lip and take the pillow from him, tossing it across the room. He pouts and reaches for another one.

“Don’t you dare.”

“Or what?” he asks, picking it up slowly.

I shake my head and move to straddle his lap, taking the pillow from him before I throw the rest on the floor.

“Or that.”

“Hmm.”

“What?”

“What are you wanting, baby?”

“What do you mean?”

The soft chuckle that escapes his lips is followed by him kissing me quickly, a soft smile on his face.

“So what are we going to do today? Are we the only ones that didn’t go to school today?”

“No. There’s almost always teenagers that skip school, they just don’t go to the same school as us. They prefer to go to school here where they’re more comfortable than with you upperclass lot.”

“Then why are you different? Think us upper class people will just bend over at your beck and call?”

“No. I don’t get along with half the kids at the school, the other half are afraid of me. You’ve seen it. But you like me, that’s all I care about.”

“And I liked you because you were different from all of the other kids at that school. They were all goody two shoes.”

“So why are you friends with Nikita? She falls under that category better than anyone else.”

“We’ve been friends since we were babies. I was different back then.”

“You know, half of the people here would’ve just… ditched them when they got tired of the goody two shoes.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that most people would’ve pretended they didn’t even  _ know _ the goody two shoes they used to be friends with, that they grew up with. They’re would’ve ignored them, joined in bullying them like the rest of the people.”

“I can’t do that to Nikki. She was my first friend and has been my only friend since we were babies.”

“You have a lot of friends now.”

“But she’s still important to me.”

“And that’s what makes you different.”

“Eric I’m not ditching her.”

“I’m not saying ditch her.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“That you’re a good friend.”

“Well I try to be.”

“You succeed.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Now what are we going to do today?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well you’re the worst.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You’re supposed to know what we’re doing today.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re usually the one who likes making the plans?”

“Mmm… but I’m tired.”

“Fine.”

“Stay here with me.”

“I had planned on it.”

“In bed.”

“All day?”

“Mmm… why not?”

“I guess I could.”

“Good.”

“Why is that good?”

“Because I want to be able to hold you in my arms.”

“Mmm… okay.”

He chuckles and pulls me down close to him, rolling us over so he’s resting on top of me but not crushing me. I smile and breathe in his scent, burying my face in his chest. His arms are strong around me, his body matured a little more from the eighth grader he was when we first met. The thoughts encompass me and I remember.

_ The shoulder bumps into me hard and the person responsible doesn’t stop. Nikita grabs my hand and looks at me, her hazel eyes wide. _

_ “Are you okay?” she whispers. _

_ “Yeah. Fine. Just a little bruise.” _

_ “Why are people so rude?” _

_ “I don’t know. But I’ll go find him. See you in fifth.” _

_ “Okay. Wait! I have an orthodontist appointment. My braces are getting tightened.” _

_ “Then I’ll text you later.” _

_ I run off and catch up with the guy, tapping on the same shoulder that bumped into me. He doesn’t turn, instead continues talking with his friend, the silver fanged serpent with gold skin and black details on his jacket, the words,  _ _ Silver Fanged Serpents _ _ in gold above and below it. _

_ “Excuse me, jerk.” _

_ He turns around and looks at me, his golden eyes looking into my pale yellow ones. _

_ “I would like an apology for being an ass.” _

_ “Oh yeah?” _

_ “Yes. I would.” _

_ “You must have the wrong guy. I’m delightful. Aren’t I delightful, Dane?” _

_ “He i-” _

_ “I don’t care. I know it was you. And I will get an apology one way or another.” _

_ “Oh yeah?” he repeats, walking towards me. _

_ “Yeah.” _

_ “Why is that?” _

_ “Because I deserve an apology.” _

_ “Oh yeah? What’d I do?” _

_ “Your shoulder pushed me out of the way. And left a bruise.” _

_ “A bruise shouldn’t have formed within a couple minutes.” _

_ “Depends on how hard it pushed me.” _

_ “No. It takes a little while for a bruise to form. It’s an old bruise if you have one.” _

_ I roll my eyes and walk away, crossing my arms. Later, after school, he’s leaning against the outside of the school, talking and laughing with his friends. I bite my lip and ignore him, brushing through my hair, which causes my short shirt to rise and expose my skin. Suddenly he’s behind me, walking next to me as I walk home. _

_ “Can I help you?” _

_ “You’re interesting.” _

_ “Thank you. Now leave me alone.” _

_ “Why?” _

_ “Because I’m not your type?” _

_ “Type?” _

_ “Yeah.” _

_ “What do you mean?” _

_ “I mean I’m not like you.” _

_ “So?” _

_ “So We shouldn’t be talking.” _

_ “Why not?” _

_ “I don’t want to make you the laughing stock at school.” _

_ “Oh please. They’re too scared of me to laugh.” _

_ “If you say so.” _

_ “They are. After I beat that football player to a pulp today.” _

_ “I saw that.” _

_ “Mhm.” _

_ “It was very interesting. But I was too busy flirting with his friend to care.” _

_ “Oh come on.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “You’re very cold towards me.” _

_ “Yes. I am. So?” _

_ “Why?” _

_ “Because. I will not be tossed around like a ragdoll and then just act like your friend.” _

_ “Tossed around?” _

_ “You think you can treat us all the same because we’re rich, but you can’t treat me like you treat the others. You can’t flirt with me and then get tired and move on to the next girl.” _

_ “I haven’t said anything.” _

_ “Good. Then don’t say anything. I have to meet up with a friend.” _

_ “Who?” _

_ “Dylan.” _

_ “Really? Why?” _

_ “Because.” _

_ “Because?” _

_ “Do you really want to know?” _

_ “Yes.” _

_ “Fine. I’ve been meeting up with him everyday after school and we would hang out at his house. Sometimes have sex, sometimes not.” _

_ “You’re fourteen,” he smirks. _

_ “So?” _

_ “I’m impressed. You used to be a prude.” _

_ “Well I’ve changed.” _

_ “I’ve noticed.” _

_ “The point wasn’t for you to notice. Why are you paying attention to me anyways?” _

_ “I told you. You’re interesting.’ _

_ “And there are a million of interesting girls in that school. Go off with one of them and cause trouble.” _

_ “I don’t cause trouble. Trouble finds me.” _

_ “Well then go let trouble find you. I have to go,” I mumble, pulling my backpack on my shoulders before I turn back to him. _

_ He grabs me and kisses me then, his hands firm on my face as his soft lips move against mine. My eyes widen and I kiss him back, curling my fingers in his hair. _

_ “Let’s let trouble find us together,” he whispers, his forehead against mine. _

_ “Okay,” I nod. _

“Baby?” he whispers, tilting my head up to his, snapping me out of me reminiscence.

“Hmm?”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Us. The first time we met in eighth grade.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

“That was three years ago.”

“I know, but I was thinking of it from us being snuggled up together like this.”

He smiles and kisses me softly again, nuzzling my neck.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Mmm… what else are we going to do today?”

“Mmm… I don’t know.”

“Well you pick. What does the gang normally do?”

“People come home from school and work because they have jobs outside of this to keep up appearances, and they rest for about three hours before the party starts.”

“What do they do when they skip school?”

“All kinds of things.”

“Like?”

“They shop, they ride around, they go to the movies.”

“What can we do here? Where we don’t have to move?”

“Hmm…”

“What?”

He sighs and checks his phone, then gets up and dressed. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“I have to go, but we’re greeting someone first.”

“Mmm… why do you have to go?”

“I have to meet some people in Jersey.”

“Alright. I’ll see you later,” I mumble, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

“I said get dressed we’re greeting somebody.”

“I am dressed. I got dressed earlier after my shower.”

“I need my jacket.”

“But I like your jacket,” I mumble, wrapping my arms around myself. “It smells like you.”

“I know, but I need it. Serpent work.”

“Will I get it back when you come home?”

“I won’t be back for two days, but yes.”

I nod and take off the jacket, handing it back to him. “Be careful.”

He nods and then pulls me downstairs with him and outside. A bike comes in, a girl on it with long blonde hair and golden orange eyes. She gets off her bike and smiles, the choker around her neck made of black cord with a circle and cat ears on it. She’s wearing extremely ripped jeans with a crop top that has laces spaced far apart, her leather jacket tight and her boots spiked to the ankle. Eric laughs and walks over, pulling her into a tight hug, and she giggles, hugging him back.

“I missed you!” he cries.

“I missed you more, but I’m back now,” she replies, her voice dainty but strong.

I bite my lip and stay back, brushing my fingers through my hair. He turns to me then, a smile on his face. “Harmony, this is Jordan.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too! I’ve heard so much about you! He can’t shut up when it comes to you,” she giggles.

“Shut up, Kittie,” he mumbles.

“I can imagine from how messed up my friend said he was when we broke up.”

He huffs quietly and then motions for someone to get his bike and he walks away with Kittie. Adriana comes up behind me with a giggle. “And now you’ve met Kittie Cat.”

“I have. At least she wasn’t like you when you first met me. I still remember it like it was yesterday. ‘Wow. You weren’t kidding when you said you were bringing someone different back, Eric’.”

She giggles and watches the younger girl bound around, not letting the heels stop her. “Her real name is Jordan, but we all call her Kittie more than her actual name.”

“Ah. Okay. Well what are we going to do?”

“I’m getting a little party together. You should invite your friend. The stiff one.”

“Alright. Will do.”

“Kittie’s going to be there. See you at nine tonight. Happy Friday.”

“See you then.”

She walks away with a smirk and begins socializing with people as Eric comes back, a smile on his face.

“So I’m inviting Nikki to a party. Are you going to miss it while you’re gone?”

“I am. It’s tonight. Unfortunately, it’ll just be you four girls.”

“But I don’t usually attend these parties without you.”

“It’s just Adriana and Kittie, Harmony. It’s not like the big parties everyone attends.”

“Okay,” I nod.

“I gotta go. Watch out for Kittie for me.”

“I will. Love you.”

“I love you too,” he smiles before getting on his bike and leaving. Kittie bounds up next to me and giggles, the studs on her jeans gleaming in the fading light of day.

Before I turn around to talk to her, I pull out my phone and text Nikkie about the party and put it up. “Are you excited for this party?”

“I am.”

“Me too. My friend will be here soon and we can go up to Eric’s room.”

“The party will be on Adriana’s family’s floor.”

“I know, but we have to get Nikki ready and I’m closer to her size.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. Wait out here for her with me?”

“Sure!”

I smile and lean against the wall of the building, drinking from a bottle of whiskey. Nikita gets out of her car and looks at me, crossing her arms.

“Come on. Let’s go inside.”

She sighs and nods and Kittie takes in the pastel yellow dress and white flats as Nikki walks in. “Holy crap,” she breathes. “Really need to get her changed.”

“Yep.”

“Wait. Is she the one Dane fell for?” she asks as we follow Nikki inside.

“Mhm.”

“Oh god. He’s pissed that she left, I heard. He got scared and then couldn’t find her.”

“I don’t know. I don’t really want to talk about it. Let’s just get her changed and enjoy the party.”

She nods and we run upstairs. Nikita looks at us in incredulity when we pull out the silvery low-cut shirt and black pants that lace up the sides, but the look increases at the heeled boots to halfway up her calves. “No way.”

“You’re wearing it.”

“Mon, I don’t wear stuff like that!”

“Well you’re wearing it today!”

She huffs and goes to change. Kittie curls her black hair as I do her makeup, and she looks like one of us when we finish with her.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Kittie pulls Nikita up and we all go to Adriana’s room. She giggles and lets us in, a table covered in packs of beer and bottles of whiskey, tequila, and rum, another table stashed with glasses. “Hey!”

“Oh my gosh you got everything! Tonight is going to be amazing.”

She giggles and wiggles her eyebrows before letting us in. We drink, finally getting Nikita to join in on the drinking, and we all start laughing, singing and dancing along to the loud music booming through the room. I laugh and sit down on the bed, my shirt slowly falling off of my shoulder. Adriana giggles, her yellow crop top off, leaving her in a white lace bra that pops against her dark skin, a grey chiffon sweater hanging off one shoulder. I smile and keep laughing, downing another bottle of whiskey. We all laugh, Nikita, falling backwards onto the bed and resting her head in my lap, giggling softly.

“What should we do?”

She giggles and shrugs, but Adriana gasps and giggles, lunging across the room and grabbing an empty tequila bottle.

“Spin the bottle!” she squeals.

“Yes!”

We all squeal and gather around on the floor and Adriana closes her eyes and spins around, pointing the bottle outwards. It’s pointing to Nikita when she finally stops and she hands it to her. “Spin it!”

Nikita’s eyes widen and she takes it before she bites her lip nervously. We all look at her and then she sets it down and spins it. It stops spinning and my eyes widen as it points to me. She covers her mouth and looks at me with her beautiful hazel eyes.

“What?”

“Kiss!” Adriana squeals. “Them’s the rules!”

Nikita blushes and then leans in, kissing my cheek at the last minute, and Adriana and Kittie boo.

“Guys if she isn’t comfort-”

“The rules!” Adriana giggles, handing Nikki another shot and she downs it quickly, cringing just a bit.

I laugh and shake my head, brushing my hair up into a ponytail. Adriana and Kittie both urge her to kiss me, confiscating the bottle until she huffs and cups the back of my neck, kissing me. I smile and pull away, before I start laughing. Everyone else laughs and we continue playing the game, everyone kissing everyone before Adriana giggles and looks at us.

“How about we make it interesting. The person who spins the bottle has to give the person the bottle lands on three options: three minute makeout session, remove an item of clothing, or take three shots in a row.”

“Oooh!” Kittie giggles.

“I like that idea.”

Nikki nods and we giggle, continuing. When Nikki spins the bottle again, she looks at me. “What do you choose?” she giggles.

“Mmm… remove an article of clothing.”

She nods and watches as I think of what I want to remove.

“Well I guess start with shirt since it’s easiest.”

She nods and I pull my shirt off, tossing it aside, and then I spin the bottle. It lands on Kittie and she giggles, thinking for a minute before her jeans come off, leaving her in a crop top, panties, and leather jacket. She spins the bottle and we go round and round until we’re in our underwear and even more drunk than we were, more empty bottles littering the floor.

“Nobody’s made out for three minutes yet!” Adriana complains.

“Well maybe you should, Adri!”

“Maybe I will!”

She leans in and grabs me, kissing me hard. I moan softly and kiss her back, curling my fingers in her hair. A soft moan escapes her lips and she pushes me back on the floor, her tongue slipping across my bottom lip. My lips part and I look back at Kittie and Nikita, pulling them down with us. They squeal and Nikki bites her lip nervously.

“Come on, Nikki. It’s not that bad.”

She nods and Adriana pulls her in for a kiss before she passes her over to me as she begins removing Kittie’s bra. I smile and pull off her bra before I remove my own, pressing my lips to hers. She hums and kisses me back, her back arching so her chest presses against mine. My tongue swipes across her bottom lip and I explore every inch of her mouth before trailing kisses down to the swell of her breasts. A breathy gasp leaves her lips as I hear a moan come from Kittie, Adriana’s head buried between her thighs. I smirk and take Nikki’s hand in mine, guiding it between my legs. She slowly begins to tentatively pull my panties down until I’m completely naked. I moan and capture a nipple in my mouth, sucking lightly as I move her fingers between my lower lips. She gasps and whimpers as I suck, her fingers circling my clit teasingly. I buck my hips and slip her fingers inside of me, moaning loudly. She thrusts one finger in and out of me, her other hand curling in my hair. As she curls her fingers in my hair, I smile and switch to the other nipple, rubbing my thumb over her clit.

She lets out a loud whimper and lets her head fall back. Movement catches my attention, and out of the corner of my eye I see Kittie straddling Adriana’s face, the two of them licking at each other. I moan and throw my head back, slipping one finger inside of Nikki as I bite my lip. She whimpers and adds a second finger inside of me, thrusting them in and out. Eventually I clench tightly around her and spill out, curling my fingers inside of her. She moans loudly as she cums all over my hand, the other girls slumped but nowhere near finished.

The rest of the night is a blur and I just remember everybody touching everybody and passing out in a naked pile afterwards. When I wake up, it’s with a hangover and it’s noon. The girls are all sleeping but we’re in different places, spread out covered in blankets on the bed and air mattresses, all of us wearing shirts and panties. Looking around, I find the door slightly ajar and then I hear Eric’s voice.

“I don’t think you’ll believe me when I tell you where I found her, Dane,” he’s saying.

“Where?”

“In a naked pile with Adriana, Kittie, and Harmony.”

“You’re right. I don’t believe you.”

I can practically hear him roll his eyes, and then the door opens wider and I roll over with a mumble, blocking the light. “I told you so,” is Eric’s cocky response as Nikita rolls over and then screeches as she falls off the tall bed, making Adriana let out a tired giggle.

“Ow,” she mumbles, rubbing her head.

I roll my eyes and crawl off of the air mattress, walking over to Eric. “I missed you, baby,” I whisper, burying my face in his chest.

“You’ve been out for a week, babe,” he laughs, hugging me, and Nikita shoots up.

“A week? No way,” she denies, getting up and grabbing her phone, then she drops it and bites her lip so hard it bleeds.

“What is it, Nikki?”

“School! I missed school! A whole week of school! And my parents don’t know where I am!”

I nod and look down at my phone, seeing texts about a dinner tonight at my parents house with their manager and I sigh. “Damn it.”

She turns to go and then sees Dane, her eyes widening before she walks up to him and cups the back of his neck. He hugs her tightly, possessively, and looks at all of us like if we touch her like that again he’ll physically hurt us. She pulls back and grabs her bag, running out of the room and then leaves the compound. Eric grabs me and Kittie both and walks us to his family’s floor.

“You should come with me to the family dinner, baby. Your least favorite guy that always tries to touch me and get me to go out with him will be there.”

“Manager?”

“Him and his son.”

“Ew.”

“Will you go?”

“Do you have to?”

“Unfortunately. But it would be much better if I had my incredibly hot boyfriend there next to me,” I mumble, pressing a kiss to his palm.

“Mmm… definitely,” he smiles.

“Good. And I’m wearing your jacket.”

“Mmm… Maybe. Or you could wear yours,” he smirks.

“But I like wearing yours.”

“But now you have your own,” he laughs, standing up and grabbing a bag, tossing it to me.

“No I’m wearing yours.”

“Harmony please. You have your own jacket.”

“And we’re going to my parents house. Not doing something for the gang.”

“I know, but I like my jacket.”

“Eric… it’s just dinner with my parents. I’ll let you wear it once we get there. At least let me wear it on the drive.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you,” I smile, pressing a kiss to his lips.

He smiles back and kisses me again.

“Now let’s go.”

“As you wish.”

I smile and lace my fingers with his as I drag him out to the bikes. He gets on his and lets me get on before he starts driving to my parents’ house. When we finally get there, I smile and pull on his jacket before I look around to not see anyone.

“Well… looks like we’re the only ones here.”

“Where is everyone else?”

“Mom texted that they were at the store. So I’m guessing they’re at the store and the manager and his son are on the way.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon. Come on, we can go up to my room until they get here.”

He smiles and nods, walking inside with me to my bedroom on the third floor. After he’s inside, I close the door and sit down on the bed, my legs out in front of me as I read through a book on my nightstand. He looks out the window, watching the road.

“Anxious?”

“I don’t get anxious,” he mumbles.

“Then what are you doing?”

“Watching.”

“For what?”

“Rich kids.”

“Okay? Well you’re standing next to one.”

“No. I’m not. You aren’t one of them, unless you’ve been lying to me all these years.”

“What do you mean then? If I’m not one of them? My parents are rich.”

“There’s a gang of uptown kids. Girls, boys. They drive fancy sports cars and go to the best prep schools and ivy league colleges, but they love picking fights with us. It feels like more and more of the city is owned by them every day, other than what’s owned by us.”

“Well don’t worry about them right now. Come snuggle with me.”

“Baby they’re dangerous.”

“And we’re safe.”

“For now.”

“Yes. For now. Come snuggle with me.”

He sighs and walks over, laying on my bed. I smile and bury my face in his chest, looking over at the door.

“So I have a question.”

“Hmm?”

“If we were to ever have a baby, would you actually want it?”

“I don’t know. Depends on the timing, I guess.”

“So if you didn’t would we give it up?”

“That would be up to you.”

“I think as the father it’s up to you too.”

“You’re the one pushing it out of your body.”

“It’ll have half of your genes.”

“Look, the biggest probability is I’ll want it, okay?”

“Okay sorry,” I mumble, flipping over to look at the wall.

“It’s okay. I’m not mad.”

“Well you sounded mad.”

“Well you tend to misread tones sometimes. I’m telling you I’m not mad.”

“Okay,” I nod, pulling a picture off of the wall before I hand it to him.

He takes it and smiles, kissing the top of my head. I smile and look at the picture, running my thumb over my slightly swollen frame.

“Hey, baby? There was something I never told you about that day.”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t get mad, okay?”

“Now I’m worried.”

“Remember how much you had to convince me to go on that date with you? How much you begged and whined until I finally said yes?”

“Yeah. It was the only time I begged a girl that much.”

“Well there was a reason for that.”

“Oh?”

“I was…”

“Baby we’re home!” my mother calls. “We ran into our guests as the store and they’re here too. Come downstairs!”

I sigh and crawl out of bed, pulling his jacket tightly around me before I look back at him. “I was pregnant.” Is what I say before I walk out. He follows after me and pins me against the wall of the stairwell.

“Was it mine?”

“Yes. It was.”

“And you never told me.”

“I was scared. I didn’t want you to get mad and hurt me. So I gave it away.”

“I hit you once and it never happened again. I still regret it. But I would have  _ never _ hurt you for being pregnant. Not when it was my fault I didn’t have a fucking condom.”

“I know, but I was scared. So I gave the baby to an orphanage after she was born. And she’s still there. No one wants her.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I asked them to give me updates on her every week when I gave her up. It was my one condition.”

“I didn’t think that was allowed.”

“I made them. Do you want to go see her? I’ve thought about adopting her back and gone to see her but I’ve never done anything. She’s two.”

“Bring her to the apartments after the dinner. I have to go.”

“Now?”

“Sadly.”

“At least go say hi to mom and dad before you leave. They like you.”

“I will, I promise. But I’ve got some things to set up. Remember to get the baby. Here’s the money for her,” he says, pulling out his wallet and handing me a debit card.

“Okay. I’ll see you in a few hours. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I smile and press a soft kiss to his lips before I walk downstairs.

“Mom! Dad! Eric’s here! Come say hi!”

They walk in and smile, shaking his hand before Eric leaves the house. I bite my lip and sit down at the table, next to the manager’s son as I slip Eric’s debit card in my wallet. He flirts all night long, his hand resting on my upper thigh. When the dinner is finally over, I jump up and run out the door, grabbing the keys to my car on the way before I drive to the orphanage. Once I get there, I get out and walk inside, handing the debit card to the woman smiling at me before I crouch down on the floor, waiting for my daughter. She’s carried in in the arms of a young man who smiles at me.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

The woman from earlier walks out with the paperwork and I sign it before I walk out to my car and place her in the makeshift car seat. After she’s buckled in and happy, I drive to the apartments and smile, letting her wobble her way to the elevators as I press the button for Eric’s family’s floor. We get out a minute later and I stay behind her, guiding her to Eric’s room. He’s not in it, but there’s laughter coming from one of the previously empty rooms, followed by a tell-tale shriek from Kittie. I smile and pick her up, carrying her to the room before I set her down and let her wobble around. It’s been turned into a bedroom for a little girl, Kittie shrieking before going back to painting cute paw prints in white on the dark pink walls.

“Has Eric just gone away for the summer? I figured he would want to meet his little bundle of joy.”

She looks at me and then the door to the connecting bathroom opens, Eric walking out with dark pink paint on his face in the shape of Kittie’s choker charm.

“I can’t leave you two alone. My boyfriend ends up defaced.”

“I had to test out kitty things!” she squeals, turning his face to show a pawprint on the other cheek in white.

I roll my eyes and look around, calling for our daughter. She’s nowhere to be found, or at least not that I can see.

“Calypso come here, baby girl!”

“Calypso?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“What? I liked it.”

“I didn’t expect it.”

I roll my eyes and watch her run in with a tiny kitten, making Kittie, the fourteen year old girl, giggle and squeal as much as the two year old does. This is going to be a handful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! chapters take so long to update because us writers are still in school and as such writing is a little bit... everywhere. Constructive criticism is welcome always!


	3. Eric Melrose

My daughter runs through the different rooms as Harmony, Kittie, and I sit in the common area while Calypso giggles.

“She’s so much like you, baby.”

“Mmm… she’s got your spirit,” I whisper, watching as she climbs on the furniture all over the place.

“She got your crazy,” Kittie giggles.

“You know what she should have?”

“What should she have?”

“A little sibling.”

“You want another baby?”

“I do. I want to try to be an actual mother. See if I’m any good at it.”

“You still have that chance. She’s only two.”

“I know, but I want another baby too. I want her to have a sibling.”

“You’re sixteen. It’s an odd craving. I couldn’t imagine being a mother at fourteen,” Kittie says, and I kick her softly, shaking my head. “Sorry.”

“Well I didn’t either, but I didn’t really have a choice. But now that she’s here, I love her and I can’t imagine my life had she not been born.”

“Well, there are pregnancy tests in the bathroom. You’ve been looking a little queasy lately,” Kittie giggles before standing up and skipping away with the kitten Calypso had found.

“Have you been feeling queasy?” I ask, looking at Harmony.

“A little. Not enough to count as morning sickness from being pregnant. I probably just ate something bad.”

“You should still take a test.”

“It’ll be negative. I am still on the pill.”

“The pill doesn’t always work. Take a test.”

“Okay. Watch over Caly. She loves playing hide and seek.”

“I will.” 

She nods and walks into the bathroom to take a test. I turn and watch Calypso as she runs around, falling one time and then crawling under the table, looking at me with her golden brown eyes. After about twenty minutes, Harmony comes back with tear stains on her face, holding the test in her hands. I look up at her and ask, “Well?”

She bites her lip and holds it out, looking away. I take it and look at it, my eyes widening before I throw it away and look at her. It doesn’t take long for me to be up and over to her, kissing her softly.

“Looks like we’re having another anyways. Whether we want it or not.”

“You said you wanted it.”

“And I do.”

“Then so do I.”

“We’ll have to prepare another room.”

“We have time. We don’t need to right now.”

“Okay. Does this mean I can’t go out and do anything for the gang?”

“I’m not going to hold you back.”

“So I can still go fight people?”

“We don’t fight often, baby.”

“I know, but we do sometimes.”

“And you don’t fight anyway. You haven’t been trained yet.”

“Fine,” She mumbles, sitting next to me on the couch.

My arms wrap around her tightly and I hold her. Over the next couple of days, we talk and adjust to having Calypso around. The entire gang is in love with her, taking care of her and watching her whenever we ask someone to. We go to school, we go on dates, we go to take care of business. Harmony giggles as we come home from the last day of school and sees Calypso sitting in the lap of Darius, one of our friends with light brown skin and black dreadlocks, his eyes bright red. I smile and walk with her, the two of us watching as Calypso gets set down and she waddles over to us, her dark, dirty blonde hair bouncing behind her.

“How are you, baby Caly?”

“Good.”

“That’s good. Do you want daddy and mommy to play dolls with you?”

“No.”

“She’s discovered she doesn’t like dolls,” I laugh.

“Well what does she like now?”

She runs off with giggles and I laugh. “Sticks.”

“Well I’m tired so I’m going upstairs to read a book before I go to bed.”

I nod and let her go before I go to join Dane, who is grumpily watching the party. “You look like you want to die.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Your girl ran off and hasn’t come back and you’re reluctant to ask Adriana out again?”

“What do you want, Eric? Just go spend time with your daughter.”

“I wanna help you, man.”

“Well I don’t want your help. Just leave me alone.”

“Dane don’t be a dick. Let me help you. I can go find her. If you want. It might take a while, she isn’t easy to fine when she’s hiding, but I can find her.”

“No. Just go.”

“Fine. I didn’t really want to help you anyway,” I scoff, turning and walking out of the room, slamming his door behind me.

I walk down the stairs and to my own floor, watching as Kittie walks Calypso into her bedroom, and I walk into my own room, watching Harmony read her book.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hi.”

“How are you?”

“Fine.”

“Good. Get me a beer?”

“Maybe later,” I mumble, tossing my jacket over the chair and pulling my shirt off.

“What’s wrong?”

“Dane’s a dick.”

“Okay?”

“I offer to help and he tells me to get out.”

“I’m sorry, baby.”

“He’s a dick. Why don’t you call your friend? It’s her fault.”

“No it’s not. And I don’t like this attitude you have.”

“I’m sorry about my attitude, but my best friend kicked me out, is refusing my help, and it pining for a girl that clearly doesn’t want him. So call her and tell her to either call it off or pick him but he can’t handle not knowing.”

“You don’t get to boss me around like garbage. There’s a thing called manners, maybe you should learn some.”

“Okay. Pretty please call your friend and tell her to either break Dane’s heart completely or mend it?” I ask before walking out of the room bare chested. My footsteps are quick and sure as I walk through the compound, girls watching me, and I walk into Dane’s room, looking through his stuff for his phone.

“I thought I told you to get out.”

“You did.” I continue looking through his things until I find his phone and I pull up his contacts.

“Then get out,” he spats through bared teeth.

I look at him and push a button, holding the phone to my ear. When it starts, I put it on speaker and set it down.

“This is Nikita Bailey. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you, promise.”

“Get out!” He yells, hanging up the phone.

“You love her! Why don’t you just fucking admit it!”

“Why don’t you do what you’re told and get out!? Before I kick you out of the compound!”

“You don’t have that authority! It’s left with your father! And he owes my father a lot, he’s going to keep me here. So grow some balls, call your girl, leave a message, and finally fucking admit you love her!”

He looks down at his phone and sends a text before he looks up at me. “No. But you better go kiss yours goodbye. She’s leaving now.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Dad kicked her and the daughter out.”

“Don’t do this, Dane.”

“Too late. I already did. And watch her back. Once she’s gone, we’ll hunt her down.”

“Why? You refuse to love your girl so you kick my girlfriend out?!”

“I kicked her out because you wouldn’t listen! You have to be taught a lesson that you obey orders!”

“I have always obeyed every damn order you’ve thrown at me! I only disobeyed this once because I’m worried about you! I’ll get out, but you bring them back. Now.”

“No. I don’t have to take orders from you. Now get out.”

“I will kill you for this,” I hiss, stepping closer to him.

“Go ahead and try, we’ll kill you first. Now get. Out.”

I swing my fist and punch him in the face before I walk out of the room, slamming the door behind me. I run to my room and see Harmony and Calypso being forced out, and I pull out my gun, putting it to Darius’ head. “No. Let them go.”

“Sorry. Orders are orders.”

“I won’t hesitate to shoot you, Darius.”

“And you yourself would be killed before you pulled the trigger,” Adriana replies from behind me, and I feel the knife at my throat.

“Why are you doing this? Adri?”

“He disobeyed orders. Dane is punishing you to punish him,” she replies.

“Where am I going to go?”

“Go find Nikita. She’ll take you in and I’ll meet you there,” I whisper, and then I hear a whimper.

Kittie gets tossed out of the room by a large man with tattoos on his biceps and shaggy red hair. She scurries back and looks at him. “Fang, please,” she whimpers.

“Stay out!”

“It’s my room!”

Harmony looks down and brushes the hair in front of her face, pushing on a bruise on her arm. I guide her out and then run to my sister, pushing Fang. “Touch her again and I don’t care how big you are, Fang. I will kick your twenty seven year old ass until you can’t sit on it.”

“You have a girlfriend to kick out. Go do it.”

I get up and run into my room, packing my things before I leave them behind and watch as Harmony loads her car and Calypso into it. “Baby-”

“What?”

“I’m so sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. Come with me.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay. I love you,” she whispers, resting her forehead against mine.

I kiss her forehead before she gets in her car and leaves. That night while we’re sleeping, Kittie’s scream wakes me up and I run in to see Fang dragging her out by her hair, kicking in screaming in her pink lace panties and white button down shirt. They force her up and cuff her hands behind her back, dragging her by those instead.

“What the hell are you doing?!” I yell.

“Boss said she gotta be locked up.”

“Why?!”

“Not telling you.”

I watch them drag Kittie out and I fall to my knees. When the compound is quiet in the wee hours of the morning, I load up one of the cars, leaving my bike and jacket behind before I get in and begin the drive across the country. New Orleans is a three day drive for me with minimal stops, and when I get there, I see Harmony sitting at a cafe, looking around nervously, waiting for someone apparently. When she sees a woman approaching, she wrings her hands and hides her small stomach from view, smiling up at her. Her hair is longer now, down to her tailbone, a piercing in her nose, philtrum, and in her bottom lip. Her lips are painted in a dark red and she tucks her hair behind her ears, revealing the countless piercings in both.

“Harmony,” she breathes, and silver glints from her tongue. She’s pierced there too then.

“It’s nice to see you again.”

“Yeah you too. It’s been what, four months?”

“Yeah. I missed you.”

“I missed you too. A lot’s changed.”

“It has. For both of us.”

She looks at her and sighs, sitting down, crossing one blue denim-clad leg over the other as she does, looking at Calypso. “I remember the day she was born.”

“Me too. It was the best day of my life, although I was scared. She looks so much like her dad.”

“She does. What are you doing here, Harmony?” she asks. They haven’t seen me yet. Hmm.

“They uhm… they kicked me out of the gang. And I had nowhere else to go because I’m…”

“Pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“You had that look like you had two years ago.”

“Well I didn’t have anywhere to go so I was hoping I could stay with you.”

“My parents have been trying to form me into someone new. Keep my grades the same, become something different. More… like you, in a way. Still no sex, but drinking is alright at home and piercings are… encouraged.”

“Well that’s good. Do you have two extra rooms?”

“Yeah. We have a lot, but, Mon, where is Eric? Why isn’t he here with you?”

“I don’t know. He said he would meet me here but I haven’t seen him. Probably still at the compound.”

“I’ll get you a doctor’s appointment to find out the gender, but for now, come on. Welcome to New Orleans.”

“Thank you.”

She nods and they stand up. When they turn, she stops, her eyes wide, and Harmony follows her gaze. My feet are moving before I register it, and then I pull her in for a hard kiss.

“Eric!”

“I told you I’d follow,” I whisper, kissing her again softly.

“Good. Calypso and I missed you.”

Slowly I nod before I get in the car and follow them to Nikita’s house. When she pulls into a parking lot, I get out and look at her, Harmony just as confused as I am as we stand outside a hotel. Men walk out with carts and grab our bags, one of them smirking at Nikita, which makes her giggle, but she turns and looks at us. “Welcome to the Silver Sky Hotel and Resort.”

“What are we doing here, Nikki?”

“We own the hotel. We run the hotel. We live in the hotel. All amenities included, penthouses on the very top floor with four bedrooms each!”

“So where are we going to go?”

“You’re going to live here with us. The top floor is off limits to guests, it’s reserved for family living, so you’ll stay up there with us.

“But we can’t afford this.”

“I just told you. You’re living here. You’re not paying.”

“Okay.”

She smiles and leads us inside, walking us through the large and beautiful lobby as people check in and mill about. Workers greet her and she smiles before entering and elevator and pushing the top button followed by a five digit code and we wait.

“So there’s two penthouses on the top floor?”

“Mhm. Well, it’s more complicated than that. I say penthouses, that’s all I know how to describe them as. Six bedrooms per side, each one grand with a balcony, but then there’s a large living room between them, notice it’s circular in the middle, the hotel, and there’s a large kitchen at one end, amazing kitchen, just saying, and a large dining room at the other. We don’t typically dine with the guests, but we can order room service too. It’s more fun to cook though.”

“Ah. Okay.”

“And it’s amazing! They’ve had it under construction for years, and it finished four years ago, and they’ve had people running it for a while, but when the gang things went wrong they decided it was time to come home. This is the city where they abducted me, and now I’m home. Now I can sound like I always should have. But I love it here.”

“Well hopefully my little family will love it here too.”

“They will,” I smile.

The elevator doors open and we step out, a low gasp escaping from me as I take in the luxury, brighter and more modern than the dark decor of the compound. We look around together as Nikita leads us through to some doors, grabbing two keys and inserting them one and then the other after she’s done, typing in our names and activating them for a room before she turns and hands them to us, pointing out our rooms before bringing us to a large set of double doors.

“Daddy?” she asks, opening the doors slightly.

“Yes, baby girl?”

“Harmony and her boyfriend are here, they need a place to stay and she’s pregnant and her daughter from eighth grade, the one you helped get into that nice orphanage, they all need somewhere to go. Can they live here with us? Pretty please?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Eep! I love you daddy!” she giggles before closing the door and giggling, looking at us.

“Well we’re going to unpack.”

She nods and I lead her to our room. I let her start unpacking our stuff as I unpack for Calypso, putting things up and away. When I walk into our room to help Harmony pack after putting Calypso to sleep, I see her staring at something in my bag.

“Baby what’s this?”

“I don’t know. Let me see.”

She steps aside and looks at me, biting her lip. In her hands is a ring, a black gold ring with emeralds and diamonds in it. I chew on my lip and look at her, rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

“Oh. That. Well… I was just… I’ve loved you for a while, you know? And I just… we have a daughter and a baby on the way and I just thought that… we could get married. I mean, we love each other, why not? I know you aren’t old enough yet, it’ll take another year at least, but I thought that maybe… eventually…”

“I would love to.”

“I’m glad,” I smile, pulling her for a kiss and slipping the ring on her finger.

“Hey guys?” Nikita calls from the hallway. “I managed to get you guys a doctor’s appointment! To find out the gender!”

“When is it!?” I call back.

“Today in an hour!”

“Thank you!”

I smile and we finish unpacking quickly, walking out of the room and going to the doctor Nikita got us an appointment at. Finally we get there and she sits nervously, biting her lip. It doesn’t take long for us to get called back, and she sits on the chair like she’s done before.

“What if they find something wrong?”

“They won’t, baby,” I whisper, kissing her forehead.

A woman walks in with hazel eyes and sandy brown hair, but she has Nikita’s nose. Her smile is gentle as she pushes Harmony’s shirt up. She and I exchange a look and I furrow my eyebrows before urging her to ask.

“I’m sorry, you look very familiar. Did you have a daughter?”

“I have… had, two. I only have one now.”

“What happened to her?”

“She was taken from me,” she whispers. “By some bad people. Now. This gel is going to be cold.” She squeezes some onto Harmony’s stomach and she sucks in a light breath, looking up at me. “It seems you’ll be getting two daughters and two sons. Congratulations.”

“Hold on. What?” I ask, freezing.

“She’s pregnant with four children. Very rare. I’ll get you a copy of the video and a picture.”

She gets up and leaves. When she comes back, we ask all kinds of questions which she answers readily before handing us our things and letting us go. Holy shit.


	4. Dane Cayson

It’s been a year since Eric disappeared in the night and we kicked Harmony out. Before that it was over that since the foursome that kept Nikita in a sleep so deep none of the girls woke up for a week and she missed all that school, sending her into a spiral that took her away from me and out of the state, nobody knows where and nobody’s looked since I have given strict orders not to. Now I find myself sitting behind my desk, listening to music as I look through things for my dad. Adriana is out of town and Darius is with her, Kittie is locked up in the basement, screeching like a cat to be let out and I have no intention of caving. A knock on my door makes me turn and Kittie’s jailer whispers something in my ear. She’s made herself throw up, and she’s been refusing to eat. That sends me to my feet with a huff and I follow him downstairs, entering the basement and looking at Kittie.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Whatever do you mean?” she asks, glaring at me.

“Why are you refusing to eat?”

“Because being a prisoner ruins my appetite.”

“I don’t care.”

“What the hell is the matter with you? You’re so distraught and heartbroken but you won’t do a damn thing about it. My brother was right. You’re different. Changed. You’re a dick. And everybody sees it. They just aren’t brave enough to say it to your face. But I am. You can’t do anything worse to me.”

“Do you want to test that?”

“You told me once I was a little sister to you. Why are you doing this to me if that’s how you feel?”

“Because your brother needs to learn that he obeys my orders.”

“My brother left! He’s gone! He isn’t coming back! You have no reason to punish me for his crimes!”

“Fine. Then I’ll set you free. But you’ll leave the compound. Go work.”

“I can come back though right? I always come back.”

“Yes. But first, I need you to take me to your brother.”

“Why?”

“I have a message for him that has to be said face to face.”

“I don’t know where he is. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve kind of been locked up.”

“But you can find him. So take me to him.”

She gulps and nods and I tell them to let her go. She goes to get dressed and I pack a backpack, putting it on before following her out. We get on our bikes and I follow her. Five days of driving and finally we reach New Orleans, the last place I would think to look for Eric. As soon as we get there, I notice one of our cars parked outside of a hotel and I park there before I walk inside and call him down. He doesn’t come, instead, one of the clerks walks over and leads us to an elevator, pushing the top button and punching in a code. Kittie shifts from foot to foot, looking at me every now and then. I just ignore her, waiting. Finally the elevator doors open and we step out into the large commons area. It’s early in the morning and nobody seems to be awake, so we’re directed to wait there. That’s where we stay until Kittie goes to find a restroom, leaving me alone.

A door opens at the very end of the hall, a woman walking out. Her hair is long and so black it’s almost blue, brushing her tailbone. Piercings glint from her ears, nose, philtrum, bottom lip, hips, and belly button. She has muscle, not a ridiculous amount but enough to make her flat stomach just slightly not as flat. She’s wearing red lace underwear, running her tongue over her lower lip, the piercing there making my eyes widen. Then her eyes are on mine. Large, innocent hazel eyes that don’t match the pierced girl in front of me. It’s not possible. It couldn’t be her. I keep my head down and dig through my backpack, avoiding her. Suddenly, long, bare legs are in front of me and I can’t help it as my eyes travel upwards, taking in the red lace that’s almost sheer covering her pussy, lingering on the piercings on her torso before going higher up, those knowing hazel eyes looking down at me.

“Dane,” she whispers.

“I’m here to see Eric.”

“He’s sleeping.”

“Go wake him up.”

She sighs and nods, walking me down the hall until she slips into a room and comes back out with Eric, who looks at me, his arms crossed.

“Pack up. You’re leaving. You got a job to do.”

“I’m not leaving my family.”

“That’s adorable. You think you have a choice. Come on.”

“I told you. No. Not unless my family comes with me.”

“The gang was your family first.”

“Dane please,” he whispers. “I can’t leave her. I can’t leave them. I’ll come back. I’ll obey your orders and do what you want, but let them come back. They’re my family. I love them. Everything will be exactly as it was. We’ll be best friends. We’ll joke and laugh and go to the parties. Let’s just put this behind us.”

“We don’t have room for two kids on your floor.”

“She had quadruplets, Dane.”

“Well there’s certainly not room for five kids on your floor.”

“They can share rooms until my parents rooms open up. Please, Dane. Don’t make me leave them behind.”

“Fine. But watch over her. The guys still have orders to capture and harm her if they see her.”

“Will you fix it when we get back?”

“Yes. I will. If you take this job.”

“Tell me what it is.”

“We have other gangs coming to the compound wanting to fight. We have a few locked up and we need you to make it more secure and take out any you find.”

“I can do that. Can we leave tomorrow?”

“Why?”

“She woke me up just after I fell asleep.”

“Fine. Tomorrow it is. I’ll stay here until then.”

He nods and enters his room, closing and locking the door. Nikita looks at me, walking forward slowly. “Dane…”

“What?”

“We need to talk. About a lot of things.”

“Not in the mood. I’m going to sleep.”

“I didn’t want to leave!” she calls after me as I turn to walk away.

“But you did! That’s all that matters!”

“So you hate me now? I gave you everything! My first kiss, my virginity, my trust! And now you’re throwing it away and replacing anything you felt for hatred!”

“Will you two shut up! You woke up the damn babies again!”

Nikita throws a withering look at Harmony before she grabs me, stronger than she was, and drags me to the roof where the pool is for them, and she looks at me. “Tell me how right I am. Tell me how much you hate me. How much you want to hurt me because I left and didn’t tell you where I was going or why.”

“I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to understand. I want to know why my calls or texts weren’t good enough for you to answer. I want to know why you can’t come back. Yes, I hate you, but it’s because I don’t know what’s going on between us.”

“You remember… the day you found me in Adriana’s room with Kittie and Harmony there too?”

“Yes?”

“I missed a week of school. I didn’t call or text my parents for a week. I was, to them, a missing person. They had people looking for me. I got home, they grilled me on where I was and wouldn’t take any of my lies. I had to tell them the truth. They packed my things for me, leaving me in the hands of two police officers so I couldn’t run off, and they brought us down here. They took my phone, it’s locked in a drawer somewhere, I got a new one but they check it regularly. I didn’t get your calls or texts. I didn’t have a way to contact you. I didn’t choose to leave.”

“Then come back.”

“You just admitted to hating me. Why would I go somewhere the one person I love doesn’t want me?” she asks, and then she stops, realizing what she said, and she covers her mouth with her hand.

“I do want you. I still love you. My hatred towards you is just because I didn’t know what was going on. Wouldn’t you feel the same if I disappeared without a trace?”

“You did disappear without a trace. I messaged your social media and I looked for your email. I couldn’t find you. I didn’t hear from you,” she whispers, walking up to me.

“And how did you feel?”

She takes my face in her hands and guides it so I’m looking at the space above her belly button and beneath her breasts. There a deep scar stands out and she looks at me. “I wanted to die. I gave you everything and I thought that even after you promised… that I was still just a fling. I couldn’t take it.”

“Come back with us. Give this another chance. You’re sixteen. You can come back with me.”

I look at her as she thinks, and then she leans up, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

“Is that a yes?”

“If it’s what you want. Then yes.”

“Good. Now go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow. Lots of traveling.”

“Come to my room with me,” she whispers, pulling my hand until I’m in the stairwell with her.

“I would rather not get hurt.”

“And who would hurt you? Not me. I’ve wanted to feel you hold me again since that night.”

“Your parents still hate me.”

“My parents are out of town for a business seminar.”

“Okay.”

She pulls me down the stairs and swipes a card out of her bra and over a sensor, opening a door and we enter a lavish bedroom. As soon as we’re inside, the door closes and I lay down on the bed, instantly falling asleep. When I wake up the next morning, her back is against my chest, her ass against my crotch, my arms are around her waist, absentmindedly and unknowingly tracing the scar from her suicide attempt. She’s sleeping with one of her arms under her head, the other is resting on top of mine. I smile and slowly crawl out of bed, walking upstairs to the kitchen to see four identical kids sitting in high chairs.

“Damn. Four more Eric’s running around. We may not have a compound left.”

“Shut up,” Eric laughs. “Two sons, two daughters, born in a perfect boy girl boy girl pattern. We love them all.”

“And her? How is she? Not dead?”

“She’s good. Still sleeping. Yours?”

“Same,” I nod, walking over to one of the boys as he finishes his food and throws his bowl at me, but I dodge it.

“That’s Declan.”

“Kind of an ass.”

“Well, we’re pretty sure he takes after my grandfather. You remember my grandfather, right?”

“Nope.”

“He was an ass.”

“That just runs in the family.”

He rolls his eyes and goes back to cooking breakfast when soft footsteps pad down the hall, and then pale arms wrap around my waist and a face buries itself in my back. I smile softly and pick one of the kids up by the shirt.

“So how do you hold these things?”

Eric lets out a laugh and Nikita comes in front of me, taking the baby and directing me to hold it properly, looking up at me through her eyelashes as I finally hold it right.

“What was wrong with how I was holding it?”

“She could’ve fallen,” Eric replies.

“So?”

“That would be bad,” Nikita giggles.

“Bones heal.”

“Babies are more fragile. They could have severe head trauma or internal organ damage that could lead to permanent damage or death,” she explains.

“So it’s weak.”

“For now. As she grows older, she’ll grow stronger. They all will. Calypso’s four and has already started little martial arts classes.”

“Well what did you name these brats?”

“You’ve met Declan, the one you’re holding is Lavinia, the second daughter is Jade and our final son is Trevin.”

“Do they like to drink?”

“Water and juice.”

“Beer?”

“They’re only a year old, dude.”

“So?”

“No. They don’t.”

“How boring.”

“Never get pregnant,” Eric tells Nikita, and she looks down, biting the inside of her cheek hard.

“Hey I would be a great father. My kids could drink all the whiskey and beer they wanted. Unlike you who prevents it.”

“It’s not good for them, man.”

“Where does it say that in the parenting handbook you don’t have?”

“They have three, it says that in multiple chapters in all of them,” Nikita whispers.

“Well what do parenting handbooks know. They’re just lies.”

“Dude, just shut up,” Eric laughs, and Nikita takes my hands in hers, pulling my attention to her as she presses her body against mine. I smile and set the baby on the floor, looking back at her. Slowly she pulls me away, down to the living room and she looks at me, brushing hair out of my face.

“Go pack. We’re leaving soon.”

“Come help me,” she whispers. “You should see some of the new things I have.”

“I will when we get to the compound. I have some calls to make. Go pack and meet me here.”

She leans up and kisses me, a small smile on her face before she pulls back and goes to pack. I sit down and pull out my phone to call a few people before I see Eric walk in with his suitcase.

“It’s good to see you happy again, man,” he smiles.

“Yeah, yeah. Ready to go? Where’s your girlfriend?”

“She’s finishing packing the kids’ things.”

“Eric!” He looks up and his eyes widen before he picks up Kittie, hugging her tightly and letting out a soft gasp of relief.

“Kittie,” he breathes, hugging her tightly, and he looks at me. “Thank you.”

“No problem. We have to go.”

“Eric come help me!”

He smiles and pulls Kittie with him to go help pack when Nikita walks out, but I have to blink a few times. She’s wearing  something very… not Nikita. Black skinny jeans with rips, but there’s black lace underneath them, a black crop top that laces in the front and  _ did her boobs get bigger _ ? Her boots are simple combat boots but the toes are heavily spiked, and she’s wearing a black leather jacket.

“All packed?”

“Mhm,” she nods, walking over and wrapping her arms around my neck, kissing me softly.

“Good. We’re just waiting on them.”

“It won’t be long now. Dane… my parents are going to send someone to come get me. I’m warning you about that now.”

“You’re almost an adult. You can make your own choices.”

“And I choose you,” she whispers, looking up at me. “I’m not going to let my parents drag me away and they can’t force me. If it comes between them or you, I’m going to choose you. I love you more.”

“I love you too.”

“You can’t get rid of me now. Once I go with you there can’t be any of this changing your mind business. It’s me or Adriana. You don’t get us both.”

“I know.”

She smiles and rests her forehead against mine, and that’s where we stay until bellhops come up and take the bags, bringing them down to the car. She watches and then walks into her room and walks out, taping a note to her parent’s bedroom door and then she smiles, watching me while Eric, Harmony, and their kids go downstairs, Kittie following close behind them.

“So Harmony’s going to be driving the car and Eric is driving Kittie’s motorcycle, she’ll ride behind him. Can I ride on yours? There’s no space in the car.”

“Sure.”

She smiles and bounds down the stairs and into the elevator, her perky personality shining through the dark clothes and multiple piercings. The personality I fell in love with in the first place. I smile and start the motorcycle, waiting for her. She’s behind me then, the familiar feeling of her arms wrapping around me, her face burying itself between my shoulders encompassing me, and she hums quietly.

“Long ride. Let’s go ahead and go.”

She hums in agreement and I start the bike. We drive for three days with the others following close behind, and when we reach the compound, Adriana runs out and looks at me. She blinks, looking at Nikita as she gets off the bike and then she bites her lip.

“Help Harmony and Eric get settled in with their kids.”

“Should I come see you later?”

“No.”

“Not even to talk about this?” she asks, gesturing to Nikita. “You leave for a week you come back with her?”

“Go help Harmony and Eric. Now.”

She huffs and storms off to help them as instructed and Nikita looks down, chewing her lip.

“Come on, let’s get you settled in.”

She nods and we grab her bags, going up to my room and settling her in. She looks around and then turns to me, backing up until the back of her legs hit the bed. “She seemed angry,” she whispers.

“Ignore her.”

She nods and looks down, chewing her lip, hugging herself tightly.

“Do you want to go help with the babies?”

“No. They’ll want to do it themselves to get used to things again.”

“Alright. Then just rest. We’ve been driving for a few days.”

She stands up and sheds her clothes, then crawls in bed in her underwear, falling asleep quickly, and I watch her, remembering everything we’ve been through.

_ She laughs, throwing a pillow at Harmony. I could see her through the window of her house as I sat outside with the gang, and her head falls back before she does, a shriek resonating through the open window as she falls backwards off the bed. _

_ “Why are we here?” _

_ “I want to make sure the rich kids leave them alone.” _

_ “You just want to watch your girlfriend. There’s no one that’ll bother them.” _

_ “It’s not like you haven’t been staring at the prude’s ass since the first day of school this year.” _

_ “But standing outside her window?” _

_ “What?” he laughs. _

_ “What if she sees you and runs out?” _

_ “Then you’ll finally get to do something about the unhealthy infatuation you have with her.” _

_ “With your girlfriend?” _

_ “With the prude.” _

_ “Who says she’ll run out here too? Maybe just your girlfriend will run out.” _

_ “She’ll be too curious. Want to follow.” _

_ “If you say so.” _

_ He chuckles and my attention is drawn back to the window as voices float down from it. Nikita is rolling her eyes, throwing something at Harmony to make her shut up. “You’re being stupid. It’s not like that. He doesn’t even know I exist.” _

_ “Because you don’t see what I see.” _

_ “And what do you see, Oh Mighty One?” she asks teasingly. _

_ “Everything. Him constantly watching you.” _

_ “He does not watch me.” _

_ “Yes he does.” _

_ “Maybe for my homework and test answers.” _

_ “Bullshit.” _

_ “Harmony language!” she shrieks. _

_ “My parents don’t care.” _

_ “Harmony, he has a girlfriend.” _

_ “So?” _

_ “He’s a good guy. He wouldn’t leave her. He loves her.” _

_ “Okay whatever,” she mumbles, rolling her eyes before she looks out the window and shrieks. _

_ “What is it?” Nikita asks, looking up.  _

_ She ignores her and runs outside, a smile on her face. Nikita huffs and chases her, her eyes widening when she sees us. “Well well,” Eric smirks. _

_ “Baby!” _

_ He chuckles, hugging her tightly, and Nikita shifts from foot to foot. _

_ “What are you two doing here?” _

_ “We wanted to see what a prude and a crazy woman do at a sleepover.” _

_ “I’m not crazy.” _

_ “You are crazy, but I love you anyway.” _

_ “You better,” She smiles, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. _

_ He kisses her back and pulls her inside the house with a chuckle. That leaves me outside with Nikita, who looks down and sighs. _

_ “We should probably go inside too.” _

_ “They’ll uh… be doing something we don’t want to know. I should… go home.” _

_ “No. Stay.” _

_ “Why?” _

_ “Why would you leave? You’re having a sleepover.” _

_ “She’ll ditch me for him tonight, now that he’s here. That’s alway how it goes. It’s like Rizzo with Kenickie in  _ Grease _.” _

_ “That’s not true.” _

_ “It is. Every time he’s shown up at a sleepover she’s ditched.” _

_ “Just wait.” _

_ “And what would we do? I mean… while they’re…” _

_ “We could watch tv or something.” _

_ She smiles and looks down. We’d been hanging out outside of school because of Eric and Harmony, so we know each other better. She chews her lip until it starts to bleed and she looks down. _

_ “Don’t do that.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “Bite your lip. Just calm down.” _

_ “It’s just a nervous habit.” _

_ “I know, and it’s not good.” _

_ “What would you rather I do?” _

_ “Just watch tv and calm down. They’ll be down soon.” _

I get snapped out of it by a knock on the door and I sigh, going to answer.


	5. Nikita Bailey

My eyes open a little, watching Dane walk out of the room, Adriana’s figure standing out of sight. “You brought her back here,” she hisses.

“I did. And you’re not going to say anything about it. I love her. Now go brief Eric on his job.”

“You love her, that’s why you slept with me for a year?”

“Adriana. Go. Now. I am not going to talk about this with you.”

She huffs and leaves, and when he walks in, I look at him. I roll over and curl up tighter and he walks over, sitting on the bed next to me. After a while he gets up and walks out, down to the kitchen. I get up and dressed, pulling on a pair of thigh high leather boots and short black shorts, a dark purple crop top on with my leather jacket. It’s a short walk downstairs and I look around, and one of the men comes up to me, smirking at me. I slip around him and continue walking, looking down so as not to make eye contact with anyone until I reach the kitchen, where one of them offers me a strawberry. It’s sweet as I bite into it and I smile, nodding. Dane comes up behind me, his hands on my hips.

“How did you sleep?”

“I slept pretty well. You didn’t sleep.”

“I wasn’t tired.”

“I know. I can honestly say I missed this place. The dynamic, the fun, the insanely crazy people.”

“Well you’re back now.”

“And I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.”

I smile and we go back to tasting different foods. A year later, I’m laying down in bed, looking through papers as Dane is out, and then I hear the gunshots. The familiar sounds of fighting hit my ears and I run across the room, opening the closet and pulling out my box of knives, going to the bed and beginning to open it. The doors get thrown open then and I grab a knife, but before I can throw it I’m knocked out and my world is a realm of black. When I wake up, I’m in a glass room, my hands chained above my head and the men sitting around, staring at me. I bite my lip and try to get free, but they laugh, one of the bigger ones getting up and walking over to the glass.

“Don’t struggle or we’ll hurt your friend.”

“I will hurt you for this,” I whisper weakly.

“You can’t do anything. We’ve already scared your friend to death. She’s shaking. Weak. And we’ll do whatever we want with the both of you.”

“Go ahead and try. I won’t let you touch us.”

“But we already have.”

He walks into the glass room and I spit on his face, trying to get away. He shakes his head and grabs the wrist of another girl, dragging her away with him.

“NO!” I scream. “Don’t hurt her!”

“You should’ve listened. Now she gets to pay.”

“No. Harmony!”

He jerks her away and smiles, trailing his hands along her naked body. I whimper, turning my head away as I hear her whimpers and screams. One month passes and we still fight. Two months and our fight is draining. Three months and he comes to drag Harmony away again but I stop.

“Please. Don’t hurt her. I’ll do anything you want. Anything. Everything. Just stop hurting her,” I beg.

“Not my decision. The boss will be in here soon for you.”

I whimper and then a large man walks in. The old headmaster of my school. I gasp, looking at him as he walks up to the glass separating me.

“Your little friends won’t come save you. They know they’re powerless against us.”

“Please,” I whisper. “Headmaster…”

“It’s too late. You’re bearing my child. You’ll stay until it’s born.”

“I’m not pregnant yet,” I whisper.

“Then looks like we’ll have to try again.”

Before I can question it, they drag me out of the room and to the grandest I’ve been in. The headmaster follows and watches as they chain me to the posts on the bed. He smiles and cups my face in his hands, slowly pulling off his pants. I struggle, kicking my legs until they chain them, spread apart, and I whimper as he looks at me like I’m a meal. He smiles and climbs on the bed, looking at me as he finishes getting undressed.

“Don’t do this,” I whisper. “Don’t stoop to their level, don’t be as bad as they are. Headmaster you know me! I’m the best student you’ve ever had!”

“Shut up.”

My eyes close and I turn my head away as I feel the head of his dick at my entrance. He smiles and thrusts in and out of me harshly, moaning as he does. I scream, begging him to stop. “Please… please… st… stop…”

“Shut up!”

I whimper as he hits me, and I scream on a particularly hard thrust. After a while, he looks down at my and smirks as he cums deep inside of me. I feel it filling me and I sob.

“Please…”

“Guards, put her back.”

They unchain me as he pulls out and I get dragged back. When they throw me in, Harmony crawls over and pulls me to her in a gentle hug.

“I want to go home,” She whispers, closing her eyes. “Or die.”

“Dying seems like the more likely option,” I whisper.

“Then that’s what I’ll do.”

“He’s trying to get me pregnant like you.”

“I heard. His son has already been successful with me, but I don’t want it.”

“I don’t want his. I don’t understand…”

She shushes me and we wait. They don’t touch us for months and I have a baby bump by the third. Then I see Dane get pulled down. “Look at her,” one of the men says, and I sit up, scrambling to the glass.

“Let her go.”

“Boss?”

“The other one?”

“Let Nikki go.”

“Alright. We’ll keep the other.”

“No,” I whisper. “Let her go. I won’t leave her here to die.”

“You don’t have a choice. Come on, Nikki. We’re going back home.”

“Not without Harmony!”

“You’re coming with me whether you like it or not! Let’s go!” He says through clenched teeth.

“Go, Nikki. I don’t mind being stuck here. You deserve a life.”

“You do too,” I whisper, hugging her.

“For what? I’m pregnant with five kids. They’re going to kill me anyways. I’m not going to live.”

I whimper as they pull me out and dress me, and I shake in fear as they help me out to Dane’s bike. He looks at me, reaching out to touch me and I flinch, curling away.

“You need to rest. Come on. I’ve prepared a room for you to sleep in.”

We get to the compound and they bring me to a room. I don’t leave that room. A therapist comes and talks to me. I spend months talking. Then the baby comes and I scream through the night. When it’s done, I look at it.

“Give it away,” I whisper.

“Are you sure?”

“You think… I want the baby of my rapist? No. Get rid of it. I don’t care how.”

“Alright.”

They walk out with it and for the first time in six months I cry. A month later, Dane walks in for the first time in the seven months I’ve been here, watching as I cry.

“Nikki it’s okay. Calm down.”

“It’s okay. Calm down. If it was okay I would be calm. But it’s not okay. And I am not calm. Because I was taken and kept for five months. And we’ve left Harmony behind and she’s had a baby she didn’t even want and they’ve probably killed her by now.”

“I’m not risking your life for her.”

“You didn’t come see me in the six months I’ve been here. You didn’t talk to me, you didn’t… I needed you, Dane.”

“And you flinched and kept away from me when I was getting you home. I didn’t want to make it worse. I wanted you to feel better before I came and saw you. Believe it or not, I do care about you and I do love you.”

I sit up and pull my knees to my chest, looking at him before I tentatively hold out my hand. He takes it and presses a soft kiss to it before the door opens and he looks back.

“What is it, Eric?”

“I’m going for Harmony,” he says.

“That’s a waste of time. She’s gone.”

“They sent me a video of her. She’s still there. Not much but she’s there. And I’m going to get her. They want three hundred thousand. I’m bringing it.”

“No. You won’t.”

“I’m not leaving her there!” he cries.

“Dane let him get her. She needs him and us to get through this,” I whisper.

“Fine. I’ll go with you.”

“Fine. We leave in ten,” Eric says, leaving the room.

“Nikki I know you don’t want to, but we need you to go with us. Show us where they’re keeping her.”

“He’ll try to keep me,” I whisper.

“No. I’ll protect you. But we need your help.”

Slowly I nod and get up, pulling on a pair of black jeans and combat boots, my shirt a black button down, tossing my hair in a ponytail before I nod, wrapping my arms around myself tightly.

“Let’s go,” he whispers, wrapping his jacket around my shoulders.

I pull it on and get on the back of his motorcycle, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my chin on his shoulder as he goes after Eric, Adriana and Darius following behind us. When we get to the mansions they held us in, I get off and look around, noticing one of the men looking at me. I ignore him, walking into the house and pulling my knife out of my boot, stabbing it through the guard’s throat as I walk so he can’t stop us before I go downstairs. The headmaster is sitting in a high backed chair, watching as Harmony clutches a baby to her, the child already a year old. I watch as the headmaster turns and he looks at me, my figure back to normal, skinny, muscular, lithe, and he lets his eyes roam over me. Dane steps in front of me and bares his teeth, looking back at Eric before he nods, telling him to help her. Adriana walks forward, one hand holding her gun, the other holding the envelope with the money in it, handing it to the headmaster.

“You’re lucky,” she whispers. “That we don’t kill you where you sit.”

“You wouldn’t dare touch me.”

“Baby,” Harmony whispers, holding out the child to Eric. “He’s sick. Malnourished.”

Eric looks at him, taking in the gold eyes before he takes it and her, walking out of the building. Adriana puts her gun to the headmaster’s head and growls quietly. That’s when I find my voice. “No.”

“Nikita he deserves-”

“Life is more miserable than death,” I whisper. “He doesn’t deserve it. What he does deserve is to lose his job and all credibility. Wouldn’t that be unfortunate, Headmaster?”

“You wouldn’t.”

I pull out my phone and play the voice recording I have from when he took me and raped me. “But I would.” He watches as I send off the email to the school, to all the schools, to anyone I can send it to I send it, and he growls at me. “And I did. You have nothing.”

“Just take her and go.”

We walk out and Dane looks at me, impressed.

“Nice job. Ready to go home?”

I nod and get one the bike with him. We all go home and I watch Eric take the baby to the medical wing while Dane and I go to his floor, but I stop him before he can lead me to my room. “I’m okay, Dane.”

“Are you sure?”

“It was seven months ago. I’ve thought about it and talked about it and denied it and repeated the process. And now I’m done. I’ve accepted it’s happened, I’ve accepted it’s nobody’s fault but theirs.”

“Alright. What do you want to do, then?”

“I want you to hug me. To hold me.”

He nods and pulls me in for a tight embrace, resting his head on my shoulder. I bury my face in his chest, hugging him tightly.

“Let’s go visit Harmony, okay? Eric asked me to check on her while he stays with the baby.”

“Okay,” I whisper, looking down.

“You don’t have to go. I can go by myself.”

“I want to go. I left her behind. I need to see her.”

“Okay. Come on, then. She’s in the medical wing too.”

I nod and go with him. When we get there, I run to her and sit down, looking at her as she takes my hands in hers.

“I want to go home,” She whispers, reaching on her hand for the ring, but notices that it’s not there.

“This is your home,” I whisper. “Your family is here.”

“No. I want to go  _ home _ . I want to go back to my parents place.”

“Nobody’s stopping you from leaving. Get out, you know Eric will go with you. You can go back to them, or you can go back to New Orleans with my parents.”

“I’ll go as soon as I know our son is healthy. I want the kids to come with me.”

“Eric will go with you, you know,” I whisper. “If you truly want to go, he’ll follow you anywhere.”

“I know. And they sold my engagement ring.”

“I know,” I whisper, holding my hand out behind me, and Dane puts something in it. “We’ve been watching the pawn shops. Got it back.” I hand it to her and she gasps.

She slips it back on her finger and gently gets off of the bed to walk next door, where her son is sleeping in Eric’s arms.

“How is he?”

“He’s going to be better in a few days.”

“Good,” she nods, sitting down next to him as she brushes through the baby boy’s hair. “I want to go home.”

“To your parents or to New Orleans?”

“My parents. They bought a new house in Florida. They’re on vacation right now.”

“Let’s go there. Raise the kids in Florida. On the beach. With nobody to tell us what to do.”

“I want to stay here. With my friends.”

“In their old house?”

“They still live in it. They’re just on vacation for a couple more weeks before they come back.”

I walk out to let them have the conversation in private and Dane follows me. I look over and see the baby I had a month ago in one of the bays and I freeze, turning to look at Dane. “What do we do with it?”

“It’s up to you.”

“We could raise it,” I whisper, looking up at him. “We could give it away. It’s up to you you’d be the one…”

“Let’s raise it. We can make it better.”

I smile and kiss him softly for the first time since it happened. He smiles and kisses me back before he leads me back to the room where Harmony and Eric are, and she’s looking at the bruises littering her body. I look down at the scars on my own body before I turn and give the direction to bring the child to a room on Dane’s floor. I leave Harmony with Eric and Dane and I watch as my daughter gets set in a crib. At the end of the week, Harmony says her goodbyes and I hug her tightly.

“I’ll visit you.”

“You better. I’ll now live in a house with my parents and babies.”

“You’ll be begging to come back,” I giggle. “You know… my parent’s house is still their house. You could live there. It’s right across the street from your parent’s house.”

“Would your parents be okay with me living there?”

“They would.”

“Alright. Then we’ll live there.”

I smile and nod and let her leave with her family. Dane comes up behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist and I lean back against him, a smile on my face. “We still have to name her.”

“You name her. It’s your daughter.”

“It’s our daughter,” I whisper. “You chose to keep her and make her better. It’s our daughter.”

“Well what do you want to name her?”

“Esmeralda. Esmeralda Haven.”

“I like that name.”

“Then that’s what we’ll call her,” I whisper.

“Good.”

I smile and we go up to his room, where I lean up to kiss him, but he steps back and goes to open a drawer instead, making me pout. He laughs and pulls something out, keeping it hidden from my sight until he turns around and looks at me, opening the box. I gasp, falling back on the bed as I cover my mouth.

“Nikita. Will you-”

I lean forward and kiss him, my fingers curling tightly in his hair.

“Is that a yes?”

“It’s an… it’s about damn time.”

“Well you can’t rush these things.”

“Mmm… very, very true,” I smile.

“Anyways. Let’s go to bed. I’m tired.”

We get in bed and fall asleep, his arms tight around me. When I wake up, I roll over and look at him, a smile on my face, pressing soft kisses down his bare chest, making him hum and roll over onto his back as I begin to pull his boxers down, flicking my tongue across the tip of him as I expose his dick.

“Are you trying to start something, Nikki?”

“Mmm…” I hum, looking up at him innocently as my hand wraps around him.

“You are, aren’t you?”

“You can say no,” I whisper before sucking lightly on the tip.

“I don’t think I can.”

I move up his body and look at him, straddling him. He hums as I begin grinding down on him, rolling my hips. Soon, I reach behind me and remove my bra, tossing it aside before I lean down and kiss him softly.

“The only one,” I whisper, curling my fingers in his. “Who can ever touch me like this,” I kiss his cheek softly. “Is you.”

“Good.”

I smile and kiss him, grinding down on him. He moans and pulls me down for a kiss, curling his fingers in my hair. My small fingers pull my panties to the side and I smile, lining myself up with his dick before sinking down and moaning softly. He moans louder and thrusts up into me, letting his head fall back. I moan, my own head falling back as I ride him, biting my lips as my hands come up to play with my breasts. He moves my hands away and pulls on a nipple, sucking it into his mouth. I cry out, pausing riding him as I take in everything.

“What?”

“Mmm…” I hum and then roll my hips again, resuming a slow pace that makes him moan softly.

His moans grow louder and he thrusts up into me again, tightening his grip on my hips. I moan and then cum as I continue riding him, crying out his name. Eventually he moans loudly and cums deep inside of me, moaning my name. I moan and brace my hands on his chest as I work us both through it, then I roll off of him, panting.

“That’s always good.”

“Mhm,” I nod, rolling over and looking at him, my fingers dancing on his chest. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

I smile and get out of bed, getting dressed before going downstairs. People greet me good morning as I walk past them, and I smile as I walk out of the compound and the area, just looking at New York from my small spot. When the car pulls up, I furrow my eyebrows, but then my parents get out and my eyes widen. “Daddy.”

“Why are you back here? We told you to stay away from here. And why is your friend in our house?”

“You moved to New Orleans, you said anything she needed, she needed a place to go,” I say, walking towards him as my mom stays back. His eyes take in the jewellry, the snakes on my bracelet, necklace, rings, the choker around my neck, the tattoo on my wrist: a crown that says His Queen.

“We told you to stay away from them.”

“I’m eighteen, Daddy.”

“And they’re dangerous.”

“Daddy if you lived here, if you understood the way we do things-”

“We?” my mother asks. “You’re not one of them. Do not use the word ‘we’.”

“Mama-”

“She’s right. But if this is how you want to live. Fine.”

“Daddy join us. Live here. You’ll adjust in time.”

“No. I have things to do.”

“Will you disown me if I stay? Keep me from visiting you?”

“No I won’t.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, hugging him tightly. “I love you, daddy.”

“I love you too.”

I step back and my mother looks at me. “This is not how we raised you.”

“Mama.”

“No. This is not what we wanted for you. You’re… you’re all we had, and now you’ve chosen a path different from what we wanted. It will send you to jail. It will send you to hell.”

“It’s been nice to see you,” I reply stiffly. “I’ll be going home now. See you in New Orleans.”

I turn and walk back to the compound, walking to the training room and changing into a sports bra and leggings, pulling on the gloves before I start punching a punching bag. Dane comes in behind me and watches as I punch and kick the bag like I was taught two years ago upon arriving here.

“Are you okay?”

“I told you my parents would show up,” I reply through clenched teeth as I continue punching the bag.

“And they left.”

“After my mom called me a disappointment and a criminal.”

“Which you know you’re not.”

“But it hurt to hear it from her. I’ve been trying to impress her since I was old enough to understand what it meant.”

“Well stop trying. Just be yourself.”

I turn and look at him, sweat on my face from working and he pulls me to him, grabbing a rag and wetting it, putting it on my face.

“You don’t need to work yourself up. Just be yourself. That’s all you need.”

I nod and kiss him, then step back and look at the punching bag. He pulls me back and presses his chest to my back.

“Come on. Let’s go say hi to Es and forget the punching bag.”

Slowly I nod, walking with him upstairs. Esmeralda is babbling and giggling on the floor, Kittie watching over her.

“How is she?”

“She’s good. Happy. Playful. Freakishly smart.”

“Really? How can you tell?”

“She sorted her blocks by color,” she says. “She’s two months old. She shouldn’t be able to do that.”

“Good. She’ll be able to use that brain.”

“I know who she got it from too,” Kittie smiles, looking at me.

“I pray she got everything from me,” I whisper, looking at the snake ring on my finger. “And nothing from him.”

“I doubt she’ll get anything from him.”

“She’s beautiful, Nikita,” Kittie tells me.

“Thank you, Kittie. Go have fun. We’ll watch her.”

“Actually why don’t we take her and go visit Harmony and Eric?”

“That sounds perfect,” I giggle.

He smiles and we go get changed after I shower and then we pick up Esmeralda. Soon, we head out to the house and when we get there, Harmony giggles, looking at me.

“Welcome, guys. Hope you don’t mind we redecorated.”

“Not at all. Harmony, this is Esmeralda Haven.”

“Your daughter? She’s gorgeous!”

“Thank you,” I giggle. “And…” I hold out my hand and she looks at the ring, her eyes widening before she looks at Dane.

“Oh my god! Come in! You have to meet Daniel!”

We laugh and follow her inside. As we walk, we take in the newly redecorated house and I smile, setting down Esmeralda, who crawls around while Eric walks in with their son.

“He’s gotten so much better. And he loves getting into trouble now.”

“He and Esmeralda should get along perfectly. Apparently she’s freakishly smart.”

“Ah. Just like her mother.”

I blush and look down, making Dane chuckle. He and Eric leave to discuss men things, leaving me and Harmony alone together. We watch the children play, Daniel older than Esmeralda watches her curiously.

“I’ve noticed that he’s more cautious. I think it’s because of what happened to him. That’s a pretty traumatic event has a baby.”

“Yeah. He seems intrigued by her.”

“He does.”

“I wonder,” I giggle. “Maybe they’ll get together later in life.”

“Maybe. Come here, Danny.”

He waddles over as Esmeralda sits and watches him. Harmony smiles and picks him up, brushing the hair out of his face as he starts crying.

“Shh…” She comforts him, holding him close. “He does this too. Cries. From the memories. Only daddy can calm you down huh?”

Eric walks in and takes his son, leaving the room to calm him down. Esmeralda looks up at Dane, her large lilac eyes looking up at him.

“What is it?”

Her arms reach up and she looks at him. He sighs and picks her up, holding her on his hip. She babbles and looks around, looking at us. I sit next to Harmony, giggling before taking our daughter and letting Dane leave.

“He doesn’t like her,” I whisper.

“I can tell. Do you want to see Calypso?”

“Sure.”

She smiles and calls Calypso downstairs, taking a sip from her glass of water. Calypso runs downstairs and giggles, running to her mother.

“Did you finish your homework?”

“Mhm.”

“She’s six and already has homework?”

“She goes to kindergarten. She’s learning her abc’s. Repeat them to me, Caly.”

She begins singing her ABCs and I smile, watching. Harmony smiles and corrects her when she sings the wrong letter, then pulls her in for a hug.

“Good job. I made your favorite dessert in the kitchen. Don’t tell dad.”

She giggles and runs out of the room, going to the kitchen. Esmeralda falls asleep in my arms and I smile, kissing her forehead.

“How is she?”

“She seems fine. I just wish Dane would warm up to her.”

“All he needs is a little time. Trust me. I didn’t do anything with my kids when I first had them, but I warmed up eventually. Although the quads are still a pain in the ass sometimes.”

“Your kids aren’t the result of your rapist,” I whisper.

“No, but I did have five kids with mine and they almost killed me.”

“I know,” I nod. “I gotta go. We gotta get back in time for the party.”

“Alright. Bye.”

We get up and get in the car, heading to the compound. Dane looks over at me as I look down, my hand on my stomach.

“What is it?”

“We don’t have to keep her,” I whisper. “You don’t want her.”

“I do. Just let me get used to it.”

I nod and look out the window. Finally we get home and I walk into the bedroom, getting dressed. Dane takes Esmeralda and puts her to bed before he gets changed and ready too. We walk downstairs together and I watch as people prepare for the party. I lean back, my head resting on his shoulder.

“You’ll enjoy this party. It’s different.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not like the other parties. No drinking at this one, mostly because we need to stay sharp in case they come back.”

“What if they do some back?” I ask quietly.

“We’ll keep you and the girl safe.”

I nod and we watch. When it starts, we laugh and gamble, drinking different punches, lemonades, teas, and coffee. We make different desserts and launch marshmallows from catapults. He smiles, hugging me as I take a bite of red velvet ice cream. I grab the coffee ice cream and take a bite of it before scooping it into the bowl with my red velvet and I drizzle it with chocolate. Dane laughs, kissing the top of my head.

“I’m going to head off to bed. I’m tired.”

“I’ll meet up with you in a little while.”

He nods and gets up. I finish eating and go upstairs an hour later, undressing and crawling into bed. The next morning, I feel his lips soft against my neck and I hum sleepily, tilting my head to the side. He smiles and kisses me again before he rolls out of bed. I pout and roll over, looking at him, my eyes large.

“Someone has to take care of your daughter.”

“Mmm… I have some things to do today. Can you watch her all day?”

“Sure.”

I smile and nod, getting up and dressed, kissing him softly.

“See you.”

I nod and leave the compound, getting on a bike and driving out. It doesn’t take long for me to get to the meet up place and when I walk in, I look around and pull my jacket up, the bouncer waving me in quickly as he sees the serpent on my back. The headmaster is sitting in a back booth and I walk over, crossing my arms across my chest.

“You wanted to see me?” I ask, my lips pursed.

“Yes. My child?”

“What about her?”

“It’s a girl?”

“Yes. It is.”

“I could use a girl. Give her to me.”

“No.”

“I didn’t ask.”

I step forward and place my hands on the table, leaning forward and looking at him. “If you touch my daughter, I will send a bullet into your dick.”

“Fine. We’ll just raid the compound and get her back.”

“She. Isn’t. Yours.”

“I’m her father. She is mine.”

“You’re her father, you’re not her dad. Now,” I pull my knife from my boot and stab it into his wrist, all the way through into the table and he screams. “Stay away from my family.” I pull the knife out and walk away, tossing a twenty at the bartender. “Sorry for the mess.”

He nods and goes back to cleaning glasses, looking away from us. I walk out of the bar and get on my bike, riding to Harmony’s house and finding her sitting on the porch watching her kids run around. I walk up, grabbing a rag and cleaning the blood off of my knife, her eyes widening as I do.

“What happened?’

“I stabbed the headmaster through the wrist. Lots of veins in the wrist, you know. Lots of blood when you ruin them.”

“O… kay? Maybe not talk about blood and stabbing people when you come over here? I kinda want my kids to not be messed up.”

“He wants my daughter,” I whisper, sitting down.

“Ah. And you won’t give it to him. Smart.”

“Extremely. Except, he says he’s going to raid the compound to get her. I don’t know what to do or where to take her. We can’t move to New Orleans and we need to stay in the area…”

“We can watch her.”

“You have five kids, you have to potential to get the quints back. You don’t have space.”

“We’re not getting the quints back. They’re being raised by them.”

I sigh and nod. An hour later, I go home and see Dane sitting with Esmeralda, who is sleeping in his arms.

“Hey. Where did you go?”

“You won’t like it.”

“Okay? Then I guess don’t tell me. Es missed you.”

“I’m glad. We have to take her to Harmony’s. For her to stay.”

“What? Why?”

“Her father is coming for her,” I whisper.

“So? I won’t let him take her. I can protect her here.”

“He said he’d kill you,” I whisper, and he looks at me, realizing where I was.

“Why did you meet him anyways? You should have left him alone. Or let me deal with him.”

“He sent me a message asking to meet. I went. He didn’t touch me. I didn’t let him. I hurt him.”

“You still should have never went to meet him. Stay away from him.”

“I will. I told you that you wouldn’t like it. But you think we should keep her here?”

“We can protect her here. Better than we can at Harmony’s.”

“Alright,” I nod, hugging him carefully so I don’t crush our daughter. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	6. Harmony Bradbury

I smile and finish making lemonade, eating a couple of cookies while I do as I watch Eric play with Calypso. She giggles, falling backwards onto the couch from his knees as he picks her up and kisses her forehead.  
“Don’t hurt my daughter, baby.”  
“Our daughter.”  
“Whatever. Don’t hurt her.”  
“I won’t, will I baby?”  
“No, daddy,” she giggles.  
“Well I finished making the lemonade. Either of you want any with ice cream?”  
“Ice cream!” she cries, jumping off the couch and running to the kitchen, giggling.  
I smile and scoop some into her bowl before I add caramel and sprinkles to it. She smiles, beginning to eat it as Eric comes up behind me, slipping something in front of me. A wedding invitation. Silver snakes sit in the corners with flowers around the edges in gold on the black background. “Prototype number one, baby.”  
“Mmm… maybe make the snakes the border? Meeting up with the flowers? Since they’re longer they can act as the line connected two flowers to each other.”  
“Like this?” he asks, slipping an invitation in front of me, the metallic silver snakes and gold flowers shining against the matte black, the words in rose gold.  
“Yeah. I like that one.”  
“Alright. I got my tux.”  
“Well I have yet to pick out a dress. Come help me.”  
“Nope. That’s a Nikita thing. I am not allowed to see the dress.”  
“Since when do you believe in superstitions like that?”  
“Since my mother came to town this past weekend.”  
“Oh? She’s back in town?”  
“She is. She brought you something old and blue.”  
“Is she going to actually like me?”  
“She liked you last time she met you.”  
“True. How are things between you two, by the way? Since she left when you were little?”  
“We’ve always been difficult with each other, but she’s here and my dad isn’t. He left me alone at the compound. She at least visits.”  
“Well I’m sure you’re dad will regret leaving now. He won’t get to see his son grow up into a man. Or watch him get married.”  
“I hope my dad rots in hell,” he mumbles.  
“Hell,” Calypso repeats, and Eric chuckles quietly.  
“Really? I thought she was going to have friends that were a bad influence. Not her own father.”  
“I’m a great influence,” he laughs.  
“On what planet is that?”  
“This one. This is the first time I’ve cursed in front of her.”  
“Okay. How is it going looking for a job?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“You said you were looking for a part-time job.”  
“Oh. Yeah. Right.”  
“Did you stop looking?”  
“No.”  
“Well how is it going?”  
“Slow.”  
“I’m sure you’ll find something.”  
“Maybe.”  
“Well I told you I would go to work and you didn’t have to.”  
“I want you to not have to.”  
“Well what will I do while you’re gone to work?”  
“I don’t know, that’s up to you.”  
“You’re the worst.”  
“How am I the worst?”  
“Because boyfriends are supposed to be romantic and list off things their girlfriend could do while they’re gone.”  
“That’s romantic?”  
“Well it depends on if they list off romantic things or practical.”  
“Hmm.”  
“What?”  
“I’m not good at making lists.”  
“It doesn’t hurt to try.”  
“I don’t know.”  
“Mmm… fine,” I mumble, walking into the living room.  
He chuckles and follows, picking me up.  
“Where are you taking me?”  
“Mmm… I wonder.”  
“I do too.”  
He laughs and carries me until we’re in the living room, sitting on the couch with me in his lap. I smile and lean up to kiss him, running my fingers through his hair. He kisses me back, cupping the back of my head. I smile against his lips and snuggle closer, clutching at his shirt.  
“Do you miss it? The compound?”  
“I do. But I prefer being with you.”  
“I just hate that you’re away from your family. You love them.”  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too.”  
“No. I love you. I’m not leaving you. Not for the compound.”  
“Good. I want you to stay.”  
“I’m glad.”  
“Me too.”  
“Now. Movie?”  
“Are we actually going to watch the movie this time?”  
“We have the past few times.”  
“And you’ve still fingered me during it.”  
“You like it.”  
“True.”  
He chuckles and hugs me, burying his face in the crook of my neck.  
“What movie will we watch?”  
“That is up to you, baby.”  
“Mmm… what can we watch that you hate the most…”  
“Oh you’re going to play that game?”  
“Mhm.”  
“Really?”  
“What?”  
“Why?”  
“Because you won’t be watching the movie anyways.”  
“Oh yeah?”  
“Mhm.”  
He rolls his eyes and hugs me, leaning back against the couch as I get up to pick a movie.  
“Ooh. How about… The Purge?”  
“Mmm…”  
“No?”  
“We can. If you really want to.”  
“What do you suggest?”  
“Anything.”  
“Trainwreck?”  
“Sure.”  
“Alright,” I smile, putting it in the dvd player.  
He leans back, curling up on the couch and watching me. After it loads and I press play, I walk over and sit down next to him on the couch. His hand rests on my upper thigh, his other arm wrapping around my shoulders. I smile and snuggle closer, resting my head on his chest. We watch the movie together when he gets a text and he pauses the movie, turning to look at me.  
“What?”  
“My mother is coming to visit.”  
“I know. She’s staying in a hotel.”  
“No. I mean our house.”  
“Oh. When?”  
“Mmm… now.”  
“So we don’t even have time for a quickie?”  
“No. Unfortunately.”  
“What if we had the kids distract her?”  
“I’m sorry, baby. But she wants to meet you. Hug you. Talk to you.”  
“Mmm… fine. You owe me.”  
“I know.”  
I sigh and snuggle closer, burying my face in his chest. “Three, two, one…” A knock sounds on the door and he calls a come in before it opens and his mother walks in. I sit up and brush through my hair, hiding one of the scars from my time being captured before I smile and walk over to her.  
“Mother,” he smiles.  
“Hello, Miss. Melrose,” I smile.  
“Hello, dear,” she smiles, kissing my cheeks.  
“How are you?”  
“My son is getting married. Something we wouldn’t thought would have happened. I’m ecstatic.”  
“Nana!” Trevin calls out, running down the stairs.  
“Trevin, my boy!” she laughs, hugging him.  
“I missed you!”  
“I missed you too. You been a good boy?”  
“Yes!”  
“No.”  
“He hasn’t?”  
“He’s been picking fights with Daniel. Making him cry.”  
“That’s not my fault! He’s not normal!”  
“Now, now. Why don’t you go upstairs and rest. I’m going to talk with your parents a little while.”  
“Okay. I love you, Nana.”  
“I love you too,” she laughs as he runs upstairs. “You two are amazing parents.”  
“Well kind of. We’re trying. It’s hard with six kids already.”  
“You should stop while you’re ahead,” she laughs.  
“Hey I didn’t know I would get hit with four at once.”  
She smiles and walks with us into the kitchen, where Calypso is licking her ice cream bowl, but she stops when she sees us and sets it down, blushing.  
“Caly your grandmother is here to see you.”  
“I see that.”  
Her grandmother laughs and takes the bowl, setting it in the sink.  
“She’s been doing good in school. And she learned her ABC’s.”  
“That’s excellent,” she smiles, taking her jacket off. For the first time I notice the snake tattooed on her, circling her wrist.  
“Would you like something to drink?’  
“Yes, thank you dear.”  
“What would you like?”  
“Anything you have, dear.”  
“Alright. Is water good?”  
“It is. Thank you.”  
I smile and grab her a glass of water from the fridge before I hand it to her. She drinks it with a smile, watching as Eric nuzzles his face in the crook of my neck. I giggle softly and look at him, pushing him away. His mother smiles, watching us before she takes my hands. “I hear you have a good friend.”  
“I do.”  
“She should come dress shopping with us tomorrow.”  
“I was planning on inviting her.”  
“Good. I’m glad. After all, your wedding is exciting.”  
“It is. But stressful.”  
“Oh?”  
“I’m not used to all of this planning.”  
“Well that’s why I’m here.”  
“I know. Thank God.”  
She laughs and drinks her water, watching us.  
“Your son is amazing, by the way. Very loving and sweet. And gorgeous.”  
“Baby please,” he whispers.  
“What? It’s true!”  
His mom laughs, her head falling back. I bite my lip and stand up, walking in the kitchen to grab a snack. They talk quietly, his mother laughing quietly. As they talk, I sit in the kitchen and scroll through my phone, draping his jacket over my shoulders. He laughs, walking in and smiling at me.  
“I like seeing you happy,” I smile back, wrapping my fingers around his waist.  
“I like seeing you happy too.”  
“Well I’m always happy with you.”  
“That makes me happy.”  
“Well good.”  
“Oh?”  
“Because I love you.”  
“I love you too.”  
I smile and rest my head on his chest, brushing my fingers through my hair. He holds me to him, a smile on his face as he does. “I’m glad she’s here to help you.”  
“Me too. I like spending time with your mom.”  
“She’s fun.”  
“I know.”  
“She was one of the best leaders the gang ever had.”  
“I can see that.”  
“My dad was the leader. Dane’s grandfather was pissed at Dane’s father so he made my dad leader instead when he died. When my dad left, the last thing he did was make Dane’s dad leader. My mom was already gone to Chicago, so there was nobody to argue with him about it.”  
“Did you ever find out where your dad went?”  
“No.”  
“Do you ever want to find him?”  
“No.”  
“Well at least my dad treats you like a son.”  
“Yeah. He does.”  
“They both love you. My parents.”  
“I’m grateful for it.”  
“I am too. Because they let you stay with us whenever you needed to.”  
“I know.”  
“They won’t be there, by the way,” I whisper, looking down.  
“At the wedding?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Why not?”  
“They’re in Asia.”  
“Ah.”  
“So that’s two people not coming.”  
“Most of the gang is coming.”  
“Well I know that. They’re not the type to miss the wedding of one of their gang members.”  
“I know.”  
“I’m just excited to see you in your tux.”  
“I know you are.”  
“You know what I’m more excited to see you in?”  
“Hmm?”  
“Mmm… nothing. Like you will be on our wedding night.”  
“Mmm… I look forward to that too.”  
“Well good. You better get ready for it.”  
“I’ve been ready for it.”  
“Me too.”  
“I’m glad.”  
“What are your plans, tough guy?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean what are your plans for after the wedding?”  
“I don’t have specific plans. Just be a family.”  
“I like that plan.”  
I smile and wrap my arms around his waist, running my fingers under his shirt. He smiles and kisses the top of my head. I kiss him back, smiling against his lips. He curls his fingers in my hair, pulling me closer.  
“You’re dangerous.”  
“You bet I am, baby.”  
“Are you sure you want to tempt me right now? With your mom still here?”  
“My mother doesn’t care. She and my dad were very risque when I was growing up. Sex in the middle of parties. Orgies were common. The parties you partook in were actually quite tame.”  
“I can imagine that.”  
“She doesn’t care about sex. She bought me my first condoms at thirteen.”  
“Again, I can imagine that because we were having sex at fourteen and thirteen.”  
“Well. You were fourteen and thirteen. I was sixteen and fifteen.”  
“I know.”  
“Ah, getting held back. That was fun.”  
“Maybe for you. I was forced to go to summer school, which you were so kind to sit with me.”  
“Mhm.”  
“Of course we got into even more trouble before we both just dropped out.”  
“Dropping out was the best option at that point. I was twenty, anyway.”  
“I know.”  
“You’re amazing.”  
“Mmm… I’m ordinary.”  
“No,” he laughs. “I don’t fall for the ordinary ones.”  
“Well then what’s so special about me that you actually decided to marry me of all the other women you’ve slept with?”  
“You’re different.”  
“How?”  
“It’s hard to describe.”  
“Is that good or bad?”  
“It’s good.”  
“Well good. Now about what you owe me…”  
“Oh?”  
“When do you plan on paying that?”  
“Whenever you want.”  
“Mmm… good.”  
“Oh? Why is that good?”  
“Because I want you to pay it now.”  
“Really? Right now?”  
“Mhm.”  
“And how will you do that?”  
“You said we could.”  
“I did, didn’t I?”  
“Yes. You did.”  
He smiles and kisses me softly. I kiss him back, tightening my grip on his waist. His hands slip under my shirt, pulling me to him.  
“Our room?”  
“Mmm…”  
“What?”  
His lips find mine again and he picks me up, setting me on the counter. I smile and nip at his lip, smirking at him. He smiles, kissing me harder.  
“Are we doing this here.”  
“It’s not like we haven’t had sex in the kitchen before.”  
“True.”  
He chuckles and kisses me again before there’s a soft ‘ahem’. Both of us turn to see his mother, a smirk on her face. “I’m going to take the children to the park and then for ice cream,” she tells us.  
“Alright. Have fun.”  
She smiles and gets the kids, leaving us alone and Eric smirks, kissing down my neck. A small moan escapes from my lips and I move my head, giving him more access. He smiles and nips my neck before he steps back and pulls his shirt off. I smile and hop off of the counter, running my fingers down his chest.  
“You know,” he smiles. “You could get me in trouble one of these days.”  
“Really? Why is that?”  
“Because I can’t keep my hands off of you.”  
“Mmm… that could be a good thing.”  
“In public it’s all I can do to keep my hands off you.”  
“Well you weren’t great at it in high school or eighth grade.”  
“Nope.”  
“But I didn’t mind.”  
He chuckles and kisses me. I smile and kiss him back, resting my head on his shoulder. Quickly he scoops me up and smiles, carrying me upstairs. My arms instantly wrap around his neck and I nibble on his earlobe. That night, he gives me what I want and more, and he doesn’t stop until I’m whimpering from over sensitivity. Slowly he kisses me as he pulls out, making me whine, and then he rolls over on the bed so he’s not on top of me.  
“Mmm… tomorrow is going to be tiring,” I whisper, burying my face in the crook of his neck.  
“You’ll have fun.”  
“I’m sure. But still. I have to take all of the kids with me?”  
“No. I’m taking them to daycare.”  
“Alright.”  
He nods and then rolls, over, hugging the pillow. That night, we fall asleep and I smile, curled up with him. Upon waking up the next morning, he’s gone to work, the kids are gone to daycare, and his mother is moving around in the kitchen. Knowing that, I pull on a pair of blue skinny jeans that have small rips in them, a black crop top with a lace up back, and black ankle boots with three inch high heels that are one inch thick. As soon as I brush my hair out and toss it up into a ponytail, i walk downstairs and see his mother wearing black jeans and a dark green tank top with her leather jacket on, her shoes laced up, and she smiles at me before handing me a mug of coffee.  
We talk and drink for a while before the doorbell rings and Nikki walks up into the house. She’s wearing black lace pantyhose with a short black mini skirt that just barely covers the now defined curve of her ass, a hot pink crop top with off the shoulder sleeves and her black leather jacket, the crown on her serpent’s head looking just like the one on her tattoo. A queen’s crown. Her shoes are Leather ankle boots with thin heels that are about four inches tall, her black hair straightened and pulled to one side, one braid going down the left side of her hair to keep it that way.  
“Ready to go?”  
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”  
“Alright. Let’s go.”  
She nods and the three of us walk out of the house, getting into the black sports car. Eric’s mom starts driving and as soon as we get there, Nikki giggles.  
“What?”  
“Nothing.”  
“Okay.”  
“How are you?” she asks as we get out of the car.  
“I’m good. A little nervous to be getting married, but I’m good. I just never thought I would be the type to settle down with someone.”  
“Well… you did like flirting around the compound.”  
“And now I’m getting married. Plus, we don’t live in the compound anymore.”  
“I know that. I miss you there.”  
“We miss it too. Really.”  
“Then come back,” she whispers, taking my hands. “You’ll have a floor to yourself, your kids will have plenty of space to run around, everyone will be safe. Security has been upped since you were last there.”  
“I don’t know… I kind of like us being alone. Getting time with the kids without having to be gone for days at a time.”  
“What if we got you jobs within the compound? Then you wouldn’t have to leave. You could be a bartender. Eric could be a mechanic.” She looks at me and then sighs, looking down. “I know we went through hell… we were beaten and raped and a bunch of other things… but we have to move on. And we’ve been through hell and back together. I miss having you on my left.”  
“I’ll think about it, okay? Let me talk to Eric.”  
“Okay. In the meantime…” she giggles and pulls me up. “Shopping?”  
“Well I do have a wedding dress to find,” I smile, walking into the store.  
We laugh and she pulls me through to the back, smiling as she holds up a dress. It’s long, a mermaid gown. The dress has a corset back, with beading on the front and a lace layer of gold mixed in with the tulle to make a pop of color. “So imagine this,” she smiles. “You, in this dress. Your hair up in a braid wrapped around the back of your head with golden ribbons all in it. Your makeup is light, natural, practically glowing. Your shoes are white, high heels, gold lace overtop them.”  
“I think Eric is going to have a cow.”  
“Is that a yes?”  
“Of course it’s a yes!” I squeal, turning around in the mirror.  
She giggles and shushes me off to try on the dress while she talks to one of the attendants. When I come out, I smile and look in the mirror, amazed at the dress. She smiles, walking up behind me and braiding my hair, pulling a bobby pin out of her hair and pinning the braid to the back of my head, letting a few wisps of hair hang around the front of my face, framing it. The general idea of the hairstyle matches the dress perfectly, and she smiles at me from behind in the mirror.  
“I love it,” I whisper, smiling widely.  
“Shoes, jewelry. We did just get in a lovely new stash of jewelry from a store a few miles away. Gorgeous selection. Yellow gold, white diamond.”  
“I can’t believe this is actually happening.”  
“But it is happening. So… you should totally get that dress, give it to your soon to be mother in law, get dressed, and join us at the compound to pick out some jewelry.”  
“Alright.”  
She giggles and runs off to place a call while I change. When I walk back out, I find an envelope of cash in my purse with the exact amount needed for the dress. Reluctantly I use it, then hand the dress to Eric’s mother and look over at Nikita, who is leaning against her motorcycle with a smile.  
“Ready?”  
“Definitely. Hop on.”  
I roll my eyes and hop on the bike, wrapping my arms around her waist as she drives us to the compound. When we get there, she stops just outside and I notice walls put up around the entire place, guards posted in the upstairs windows of the common floors of every building, watching out. Meanwhile, on the inside, you can still hear the laughter, shouts, squeals, clinking of glasses, and everything else familiar about the compound as she pulls up slowly and shows her wrist to the guard, her tattoo that says His Queen with a crown above it glaringly obvious.  
“Are they here?” she asks, looking at him.  
“Yes. They are.”  
“Good man. Open the gates,” she smiles, and the doors open enough for her to drive in. Once inside, we get off and she tosses her keys to a friend, who gets on and drives it to the garage while I look around at the walls, which I now realize are made of one way glass. “Bullet proof. Special made. Took a lot of coercion to get the guy to do it but… it was almost completely free. It keeps up the illusion that there aren’t any walls around us. Dreadful addition, to be honest.”  
“Well at least the compound is more secure. After what happened…”  
“That’s why it’s more secure.”  
“Good.”  
“To be honest, it’s let them be more wild. Nobody’s died, but they feel more welcome to let their anger loose without fear of the cops.”  
“Wow. Sounds great,” I tease, rolling my eyes.  
She giggles and pulls me up the stairs. When we arrive outside the loot room, she looks at me before opening the door just enough for us to hear inside.  
“Dude, why did they bring back cufflinks?” I hear, and my eyes widen as she raises a finger to her lips. I giggle and press my ear against the door, biting my lip. “They brought them back because of the wedding? Did you rob a jewelry store that caters to weddings?”  
“Apparently.”  
“Dane. Come on. How are things going with you and Nikita? Since all of the…”  
“They’re good. Pretty much back to normal.”  
“Does she still freak out when you try to touch her?”  
“A little, yeah. Not as bad. You?”  
“We sleep together. But we don’t have sex anymore. Not really.”  
“No sex? How are you still alive?”  
“I do it because I love her. And I know that we need to take things slow.”  
“She’s changed you.”  
“She’s made me realize there’s more to life than sex. It’s why I’m marrying her. Also, these little skull cufflinks are rad, but I think she’d kill me if I wore them to our wedding.”  
“You can try.”  
“No way!” he laughs. “I’m not going to risk the bride’s wrath. Or Nikita’s. Who seems to be more bridezilla than maid of honor? What, still waiting to marry her?”  
“I am.”  
“Alright. Well just don’t propose at my wedding. I’ll have to die at your funeral if you do that. Petty slight and all.”  
“Oh yeah?”  
“Yeah,” he smiles.  
“Knock knock,” Nikita giggles, opening the door and blocking me from view, crossing her arms as Dane takes in the new shorts she bought, her leather jacket zipped up only half way, letting the crop top show.  
“Hey, baby. How are you?”  
“I’m wonderful,” she giggles, walking over and revealing me as she wraps her arms around him, and Eric smiles, holding up some skull cufflinks with diamonds in them.  
“I love those,” I smile.  
He smiles and kisses me, putting them in the bag as Nikita rests her forehead against Dane’s, biting her lip before stepping back and taking my hand, pulling me to the back room and closing the door. Before me sit around twenty five different expensive necklaces, the table beside them sitting bracelets, and the other table holding earrings.  
“Oh my god there’s so many! I love them all.”  
“You can have two bracelets, two necklaces, a choker and a long one, or just one necklace, up to you, and a pair of earrings.”  
“I’ll take two of each.”  
She smiles and then looks at me, picturing me in the dress before she holds up a choker necklace three layers tall in diamonds with a yellow gold backing, clasping it around my neck before getting a simple gold chain and stringing a ruby pendant onto it, placing the necklace around my neck before handing me the mirror so I can see.  
“I love it,” I gasp, my eyes widening.  
“That’s not everything,” she smiles, setting down the mirror and searching through earrings before holding up a pair. They’re yellow gold with white diamonds and a single ruby in the middle of each. I smile and put them on, looking in the mirror. As I do, she picks up two cuffs, sliding them up my arms and I look down at them. Yellow gold, white diamond, six layers of white diamonds with a layer of rubies in the middle, tying in all the jewellry.  
“Okay. I’m taking these all.”  
She smiles and then looks at me, unlocking a cabinet and bringing over a black velvet box, opening them. “They’ll go on your face by the corners of your eyes,” she whispers as I look at the little sapphires, six total, all the same size. “They were Eric’s mother’s. They were originally in her wedding ring but when her husband left, she had them pulled out, replaced with diamonds, and turned into these. For Eric’s bride to wear on her wedding day.”  
“They’re beautiful,” I whisper, tracing them softly.  
“Something borrowed, something blue, something old, something new,” she whispers. “You’ve got all your bases covered.”  
“And now to dress the babies.”  
She smiles and we spend hours talking and discussing things, going around the compound and laughing as we do. When it comes time to go due to the late time, she hugs me tightly, whispering about how she better see my things on our floor by the end of the week or else she might go crazy. Eric smiles and takes my hand, leading us to our car while she stands with Dane, the two looking like the perfect couple. You would never even know she was a shy bookworm who was constantly bullied. The evolution makes me smile and I get in the car with Eric, who starts it and begins the drive to our house, the bag of jewelry in the backseat.  
“I’m nervous.”  
“About what?”  
“Getting married.”  
“Why?”  
“I just… I never thought it would happen.”  
“After everything you’ve been through… we don’t have to get married. Not yet. Not ever, if you don’t want to.”  
“No I want to. Trust me. I love you more than anything. It’s just… it’s something I didn’t believe would happen.”  
“Why?”  
“Because we’re not… traditional people.”  
“We’re more traditional than we used to be,” he points out. “But I miss being untraditional sometimes.”  
“I know,” I whisper, looking down.  
“But it’s alright. We’re doing fine outside of the compound.”  
“Yeah. We are.”  
He looks over at me, raising an eyebrow. “Harmony… are you okay living away from your friends?”  
“I think I… I want to go back.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“I’m sure.”  
“We can move back in by Thursday.”  
“Then let’s do it.”  
“Alright. I know for a fact that Dane and Nikita would help us pack and move but… our floor is already mostly furnished and stuff.”  
“We don’t have much anyways.”  
“True.”  
“So we’ll move back.”  
“We could pick up the kids and just… go?”  
“Do you want to?”  
“It’s up to you.”  
“I guess we’ll go, then.”  
He nods and drives us to the house, where we pick up our stuff for the wedding, and then the kids, and go back to the compound. When we enter the gates, Nikita is laughing and dancing on the table in front of Dane, a bunch of girls doing exactly that on tables around the seating area.  
“Hey, guys.”  
“Hey!” she laughs, jumping off the table and running over, hugging me tightly while Dane gets some guys to move our stuff upstairs. When she steps back, she scoops up one of my kids and hugs her, giggling softly before Adriana walks over with Kitty and some of our other friends to bring them upstairs, Eric walking over and wrapping his arms around my waist.  
“You missed it, huh?”  
“I did,” he smiles as Nikita pulls on my hand.  
“Dance with me!”  
“Wait hang on! What if I want to dance with Eric?”  
She looks at us and Eric laughs, sitting next to Dane. Nikki giggles and runs up to Dane, who pulls her into his lap. I smile and walk over to Eric, nudging his nose with mine. He smiles, kissing me softly. “Happy to be back?” he asks softly.  
“I’m happy to be anywhere with you.”  
“Sweet.”  
“Now what are we going to do?”  
“Party?”  
“Last time we partied we got another kid.”  
“That won’t happen this time.”  
“Really?”  
“Mhm.”  
“I don’t believe you.”  
“Bad track record!” Nikita giggles, and Eric glares at her playfully.  
“She’s not wrong.”  
“We did stock your bathroom and bedside table drawer with condoms,” she smirks.  
“There isn’t a risk of getting pregnant,” he mumbles, looking at me.  
“Well I think you can party. I’ll take care of the kids.”  
“Aw, but that’s no fun!” Nikita pouts.  
“You seem to forget that we have an army now.”  
She smiles again and we stand up, going to our floor. We spend a few weeks adjusting to being back at the compound, but it’s a matter of days before we find our rhythm. The only reason it takes us weeks is because of the increased security. Password changes to get in are constant, once a week. Always a new password, never enough time for someone to betray us. One day, about a month after we’ve been living here, I’m woken up to an empty bed and Nikita sitting on top of me, giggling as her hair is up in a messy knot.  
“What did you kidnap my fiance?”  
“No!” she giggles, then her face turns serious. “Dane did.”  
“Why?”  
“Because it’s your wedding day! You’re not allowed to see the groom! You didn’t even fall asleep with him beside you. Dane kept him out for his bachelor party with the rest of the guys.”  
“Mmm… no. I want to sleep with him,” I mumble, rolling over.  
“You can. Because did you not hear me? It’s your wedding day! And it was either I wake you up or Kitty and Adriana will.”  
“No…” I mumble.  
“You don’t want to get married? We can… call off the wedding?”  
“I want sleep.”  
She sighs and gets off of me. “Then I guess your shower starts early…” as she speaks, two buckets of ice cold water get dumped on my head and body, making me jolt upright.  
“What the fuck!?” I squeal, getting out of bed.  
“I told you,” Nikita smirks, and I notice she’s leaning in a black silk robe that says Snake of Honor on the back, “It’s your wedding day. You specifically chose this day? Dress, hair, shoes, makeup, jewelry? Remember? But before all of that comes a shower.”  
“You’re a bitch sometimes.”  
“I am extremely aware. You know what made me that way? Becoming queen bitch. Now,” she smiles. “You brought me to this godforsaken compound, made me realize I was in love with their leader… so now I’m telling you, my best friend, that we have put a lot of effort into this wedding to make sure it’ll be perfect, as per your request. Now please. Take a shower while we prep everything for you.”  
“Fine,” I mumble.  
She smiles and pulls me to my feet, pushing me into the bathroom. While I shower, I can hear her laughing with Adriana and Kitty, and when I get out and dry off, there’s a robe made of black silk and it says “Bride” on it, a snake curling up to make the B. I smile and pull it on, sitting down on my bed as I wait for them. They walk in with a smile, each one wearing their robes, and Nikita walks over, hugging me.  
“Okay so what now?”  
“Adriana is going to do your hair while Kitty does your makeup. I am going to get the jewelry ready for you.”  
“Alright.”  
She smiles and walks out of the room to get ready and lay things out while Adriana steps up behind me. Her fingers begin to weave in and out of strands in my hair, grabbing golden ribbons as she does before she pins them with a ruby and white diamond hair clip, holding the braid on the back of my head. While she’s doing that, Kitty stands beside me, applying white, shimmery eyeshadow and gold eyeliner with a black outline around it so it pops. My lips are pale pink with a golden shimmer on top of them, and the highlight is a white-gold color on my cheeks and nose over the pink blush. When they’re done, I look like an angel from the neck up, and they smile at me.  
“I love it,” I smile.  
“Perfect,” they giggle. “We’re going to go get ready.”  
With that, they leave, arm in arm as Nikita walks in. She’s wearing a long dress in a deep red with gold shimmer on the hem, and there’s a slit up the side to her hip. Her hair is curled and pulled to one side, pinned with a snake clip with ruby eyes, and her makeup is done dark with a smokey eye and dark red lipstick. Quickly she holds up the black bag holding my dress and she pulls it out, helping me into it and lacing up the back before she turns me around and applies the three blue gems to the corner of each eye. When she’s done, she opens a box. She’d left my shoes a mystery, and they’re gorgeous. White with gold lace and diamonds in a thin layer of the toes.  
“Okay I seriously think you’re trying to kill my fiance.”  
A soft giggle leaves her and she helps me into the four inch beauties, my dress still long behind me, and she finishes helping me with my jewelry before walking me to stand in front of my full length mirror. I gasp and cover my mouth, looking in the mirror.  
“You are the most beautiful bride,” she whispers. “Kate Middleton would be jealous. If she was a flamboyant person, anyway.”  
“I’m not that beautiful. It’s mostly your work.”  
“We just enhanced you,” she smiles, taking my hand as Kitty and Adriana walk in. Kitty’s dress is dark red, long and flowy around her with an “X” across the back for the straps and gold shimmer around the waist, her hair pulled back in a high, curled ponytail, her makeup identical to Nikita’s. Meanwhile Adriana is wearing a hi-low dress of the same color as the others, with no sleeves and a gold shawl over top, her makeup matching the others.  
“Your kids are dressed and ready,” Kitty giggles.  
“Good. One less thing to worry about. Dressing the army.”  
They giggle and we take a selfie together, all of us sticking our tongues out so the custom filter splits them like a snake, and we fall into fits of giggles before Nikita turns and hands Kitty a box. A soft gasp leaves her and she opens it, pulling out a headband with the outlines of gold cat ears. Quickly she puts them on, completing her look.  
“Are we ready?”  
Nikki smiles and then hands me my bouquet before handing the flowers for my bridesmaids out. When we go to where the ceremony is being held, I peek inside and see Dane standing with Eric, both in tuxedos that look damned expensive, but they can afford them. Nikki gently moves me aside and smiles at Dane, who just barely sees her before walking over to us, and he takes her in.  
“I’m still nervous. Is that normal?”  
“It is,” she smiles. “I think. I don’t know.” She takes my hands, looking at me. “You’re beautiful. And blissfully in love. With children. And he’s been so amazing helping you with everything. You’ve been through so much. Take this happy day and run with it, because it’s going to be the best day of your life.”  
I nod and smile, closing my eyes as I wait for the wedding to start. Soon the music is playing and my bridesmaids are walking in front of me before I walk in behind them, watching my kids all the way at the front, each one throwing a different color flower petal. When Eric sees me, his eyes go wide and he covers his mouth with both hands, laughing happily before I get handed off to him, and his hands hold mine softly as he kisses the top of them.  
“You look amazing,” I smile, looking at him.  
“Nowhere near as amazing as you,” he whispers, then his mother starts talking.  
The whole thing is so surreal, it’s so easy until we reach the vows. He tells me he loves me, that he’d never do anything to hurt me and he’d kill any person who did, he doesn’t care if it’s a man or a woman. I smile and look down, playing with his fingers as I repeat our past, talk about our future and how much he means to me. His mother smiles and pronounces us man and wife, and Eric wastes no time pulling me to him and kissing me, holding me close as our friends cheer. I smile and kiss him back, curling my fingers in his hair. We tune the world out around us until his mom separates us, and we run out with our friends, laughing. An hour later we’re doing the wedding photos before Eric and I go to change for the party into something a little more manageable.

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all constructive comments are appreciated, anything to get better and tell us what you think! We love feedback!


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